succès de scandale

[syk-sed^uh skahn-dal]

noun

French.

1. success won by reason of topical, usually scandalous, subject matter rather than by merit and critical respect.

succès de scandale

/ syksɛ də skɑ̃dal /

noun

1. success of a play, book, etc, because of notoriety or its scandalous character

Word History and Origins

Origin of succès de scandale¹

literally: success of scandal

Example Sentences

Last week, a new play inspired by Schnitzler’s succès de scandale premiered at the Salzburg Festival, where it was one of two reworked classics during the event’s opening days.

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Before he finished there, he caught the attention of the opera world when, at 28, he won the renowned Ring Award in Graz, Austria, with something of a succès de scandale.

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As his art was being turned into a succès de scandale by the gullible press, Warhol began cultivating a public image, one that had little to do with the manner and style of “Raggedy Andy,” the whimsical oddball he’d been since his student days.

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But after its success and the succès de scandale of “Last Tango in Paris,” released in the United States the following year, Brando went back to doing movies for cash.

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The movie takes up with the filmmaker as his second collaboration with Salvador Dalí, “L’Age d’Or,” becomes a sufficient succès de scandale in Paris to get him blackballed by the French film industry.

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