cream of the crop, the

Idioms  

1. The best or choicest of anything, as in The apples from this orchard are definitely the cream of the crop. The noun cream has been used to mean “the best” since the 16th century. The French equivalent of the present term, la crème de la crème (“the cream of the cream”) was familiar in English by 1800.

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Example Sentences

Films that rise to the surface during the Academy Awards season are often considered the cream of the crop, the top of the line.

From Los Angeles Times

Michael Smith, the former dean of the faculty of arts and sciences, testified that under Mr. Kahlenberg’s proposal, Harvard would lose the academic cream of the crop: The proportion of admitted students with the highest academic ratings would drop to 66 percent, from 76 percent.

From New York Times

But the cream of the crop, the absolute Exile on Main Street of the bunch, is the Maysles brothers’ account of the band before, during and after the horror of Altamont.

From The Guardian

It's reserved for the cream of the crop, the soccer stars, the NFL quarterbacks, the NBA's best, and Roger Federer.

From Golf Digest

Instead of being a dumping ground for everything you listen to on Spotify, Facebook is now only going after the cream of the crop: the music you actively want to share with your friends and family.

From The Verge