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Synonyms

pis aller

American  
[pee za-ley] / pi zaˈleɪ /

noun

French.

  1. the last resort or the final resource.

pis aller British  
/ piz ale /

noun

  1. a last resort; stopgap

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of pis aller

literally: (at) the worst going

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If pis aller sounds ominous, well, it is.

From Golf Digest

When I wouldn't take her place, a pis aller merely.

From Project Gutenberg

I don't offer you my work as a pis aller.

From Project Gutenberg

Substitutes for butcher’s meat too often suggest the purely vegetarian dish that to most people is but a pis aller.

From Project Gutenberg

It was nothing to either Herbert or me, for we both found Mrs. Day a much more lively pis aller in conversation than Eleanor.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.