swan song
- the last act or manifestation of someone or something; farewell appearance: This building turned out to be the swan song of Victorian architecture.
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Origin of swan song
First recorded in 1825–35; so called from the belief that the dying swan sings
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
farewellwindupadieuclimaxconclusionculminationepiloguegoodbyeclosercodaenvoifinisperorationExamples from the Web for swan song
Contemporary Examples
At an age when most actresses are settling into occasional cameos and swan-song performances, Leachman is only accelerating.
Historical Examples
Many of the hymns in his Swan-Song are said to have been composed and sung in that way.
Hymns and Hymnwriters of DenmarkJens Christian Aaberg
What a prophecy of Vittoria and Waterloo there is in these words—the swan-song of Pitt.
William Pitt and the Great WarJohn Holland Rose
And I suppose, our swan-song will be played on silver flutes!
In Her Own RightJohn Reed Scott
The first line of Gilbert's swan-song—the only song of his that is remembered.
A History of the French Novel, Vol. 2George Saintsbury
That was my cradle-song; and this is my swan-song, I suppose.
Mark Twain's SpeechesMark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
swan song
- the last act, appearance, publication, or utterance of a person before retirement or death
- the song that a dying swan is said to sing
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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
Idioms and Phrases with swan song
swan song
A final accomplishment or performance, one's last work. For example, I'm resigning tomorrow; this project was my swan song. This term alludes to the old belief that swans normally are mute but burst into beautiful song moments before they die. Although the idea is much older, the term was first recorded in English only in 1890.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.