coign of vantage

American  

noun

1. a good position for observation, judgment, criticism, action, etc.

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coign of vantage British  

noun

1. an advantageous position or stance for observation or action

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Etymology

Origin of coign of vantage

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

You can almost call it a hobby of mine, to dwell upon the fortunes of the men and women who pass across the great stage on which I have an obscure coign of vantage.

From Captain Macedoine's Daughter by McFee, William

Stratford-on-Avon, too, belongs to this part of the country,—a little old-world town, where the bust of Shakespeare looks down upon you from every coign of vantage.

From With the World's Great Travellers, Volume 3 by Various

She pirouetted up to the front of his box pretty often during the evening, and several times hurled ancient wheezes at the riotous funnymen from that coign of vantage.

From The King of Schnorrers Grotesques and Fantasies by Zangwill, Israel

The excitement was intense among the passengers, who thronged the bulwarks at every coign of vantage, eagerly scanning the dark, silent sea.

From The Red Derelict by Mitford, Bertram

As our friends noiselessly gained their coign of vantage, the prisoner was speaking, and his voice, though clear, was so weak and low that the trio had to strain their ears to catch his words.

From Into the Unknown A Romance of South Africa by Fletcher, Lawrence