succès fou

American  

[syk-se foo] / sük sɛ ˈfu /

noun

French.

1. an extraordinarily great success.

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succès fou British  

/ syksɛ fu /

noun

1. a fantastic success

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Etymology

Origin of succès fou

literally: mad success

Example Sentences

A novel in the guise of a confession, it was taken by many American readers as a confession in the guise of a novel: Portnoy became an immediate bestseller and a succès fou.

From The Guardian

Now, however, with dogged “the show must go on” determination, we have a succès fou.

From The Guardian

The largely French audience was expecting un succès fou, and they got one—but not the one they expected.

From Slate

Another scandalous novel, It's Me, Eddie, enjoyed a succès fou.

From The Guardian

Succès Fou Not long ago, few people took Marc Restellini, a charismatic French art historian, au sérieux.

From New York Times