Etymology

pièce de résistance

Today it means: A masterpiece; the most memorable accomplishment of one’s career or lifetime. Full definition →

First used late 18th c.French pièce de résistance
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The story

  1. French · borrowed frompièce de résistance
  2. English todaypièce de résistance

Borrowed from French pièce de résistance; the first use of this phrase in English appears in 1789 in Richard Cumberland's novel Arundel.

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 18th c. The chief dish at a dinner.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.