coup d'essai

[ koo de-se ]

noun

, French.

, plural coups d'es·sai [koo de-, se].

1. a first attempt.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coup d'essai¹

Literally, “trial stroke”

Example Sentences

It is the Hartley coup d'essai in hospitality in the county, and there is a widespread interest manifested as to how they will do it.

From Project Gutenberg

A writer in the Law Quarterly Magazine says:—To the best of our information, James's coup d'essai in literature was a hoax in the shape of a series of letters to the editor of the Gentleman's Magazine, detailing some extraordinary antiquarian discoveries and facts in natural history, which the worthy Sylvanus Urban inserted without the least suspicion.

From Project Gutenberg

But time also must be granted for this proclamation to diffuse itself, and therefore it happened that the Clontarf meeting was selected for the coup d'essai of Government; in its new character for "handselling" the new system of rigour, this Clontarf assembly having fallen out just about six weeks from the Royal speech.

From Project Gutenberg

It would be not much more just to take Roderick as Smollett's deliberate presentment of himself than to apply the same construction to Marryat's not very dissimilar, but more unlucky, coup d'essai of Frank Mildmay.

From Project Gutenberg

I do not think my book was a bad coup d'essai.

From Project Gutenberg