pousse-café

[poos-ka-fey, poos-ka-fey]

noun

plural

pousse-cafés 

1. an after-dinner drink of liqueurs of various colors and specific gravities, carefully poured into a glass so as to remain floating in separate layers.

2. a small glass of liqueur served after coffee.

pousse-café

/ puskafe /

noun

1. a drink of liqueurs of different colours in unmixed layers

2. any liqueur taken with coffee at the end of a meal

Word History and Origins

Origin of pousse-café¹

1875–80; < French: literally, (it) pushes on (the) coffee

Word History and Origins

Origin of pousse-café¹

literally: coffee-pusher

Example Sentences

It's a technicolor dream of a smoothie, a pousse-café meets a parfait meets a smoothie, as delicious as it was visually stunning.

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Over what was probably not pousse-café, Ricky took out a deck of cards and stunned us into admiration.

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In other words, sir, you are a sort of human pousse-café, a mighty agreeable concoction, Mr. Bib, though a trifle dangerous to tackle at breakfast.

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I have become acquainted with a drink called pousse-café, which contains all the colors of the rainbow.

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The latter nodded wisely, and a few minutes later brought in a tiny glass containing a pousse-café in three different colors.

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