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View synonyms for swan song

swan song

noun

  1. the last act or manifestation of someone or something; farewell appearance:

    This building turned out to be the swan song of Victorian architecture.



swan song

noun

  1. the last act, appearance, publication, or utterance of a person before retirement or death
  2. the song that a dying swan is said to sing
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of swan song1

First recorded in 1825–35; so called from the belief that the dying swan sings
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Idioms and Phrases

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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Example Sentences

At an age when most actresses are settling into occasional cameos and swan-song performances, Leachman is only accelerating.

As long as there are a few duets in there and the lights go out on a wonderful swan song.

Théophile Gautier wrote of him, "That exhibition was Marilhat's swan song, and the works he sent were eight diamonds."

I believe,” Mollie smiled to herself, “that the autumn leaves sing their swan song, too.

An Adirondack loon fortifying his utterance by a cracked fish-horn is the nearest approach to a healthy swan-song.

It's my swan-song, my retirement from literature permanently, and I wish to pass to the cemetery unclodded.

Whistle softly and a bright-coated fellow will run up even upon your shoulder to show his appreciation of the Swan Song.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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