Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PIECE DE RESISTANCE
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connect this word to others:
Sometimes my cat Layla is so cute I just want to eat her.
Same thing for the yummy video series I've been watching, a series of lectures on storytelling by Neil Gaiman: they're so fantastic, I just want to bite into them.
Even if you've never personally called anything eye candy or brain candy, you'll recognize this quirk of English: that we love comparing things to food.
Let's see some more of that quirk:
We "consume" everything from electricity to pop music.
Things we find exciting are tasty or p__atable. And things we find boring are flavorless or in___id.
We call random assortments of things salm____is (salads filled with meats, eggs, and veggies) or boui__a_ai__es (stews with a variety of seafood ingredients).
And when we enjoy some part or piece of something so much, we call it the piece de resistance: the main dish, the main course, the most delicious and filling portion of a meal.
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make your point with...
"PIECE DE RESISTANCE"
This term is French for "main dish (of a meal)." You'll see this literal meaning used in older texts, but it's rarely used today.
Today, the piece de resistance of something is its best, most impressive part or item.
Pronunciation:
pee YES duh ruh zist ONTS
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "it's the piece de resistance."
Other forms:
Just the plural, for which you might want to keep the French accent marks and the italics: "pièces de résistance."
Why "resistance"? Who's resisting it? Does it "resist" in the face of our expectations or our awe? Is it irresistible?
Your guess is as good as mine. Lexicographers, too, are stumped. If you're a native French speaker, can you weigh in?
For what it's worth--very little--my guess is that some cross-contamination occurred long ago between the Latin roots that make up the word "resist" (meaning literally "stand firm against") and "subsist" ("to stand firm," or more literally "to stand under"), the result being a hazy border between the two ideas of drawing strength from something--like food--and refusing or rebuffing it. Again, just a guess.
Update! A native French speaker, Cécile, shared with me that this term "seems to simply come from the fact that plat de résistance (or pièce) being the main dish of a meal, the most copious, 'is the dish that you're not so easily done with,' i.e. it resists you; it offers resistance." Wonderful.
How to use it:
Use this formal, flashy term to label the best, most spectacular part of a meal, a collection, a room, a building, a museum, an art gallery, etc.
If you prefer, you can italicize it to emphasize its Frenchness: piece de resistance. But many writers don't.
And if you want to get figurative? You might refer to a certain victory as the piece de resistance of the athletic season, or to a certain place or sight or event as the piece de resistance of the tour or the vacation or the social movement, or to a certain joke or song as the piece de resistance of a comedian's or a musician's performance.
examples:
"Castro has slightly opened the economy, allowing private entrepreneurs to run businesses. Restaurants, beauty parlors, repair shops have sprung up all over Havana. He eliminated the hated travel permit that Cubans needed to leave the country. Cubans are now allowed to sell real estate and cars for the first time in nearly 50 years. And now, the piece de resistance: diplomatic relations with the United States."
— Tracy Wilkinson, The Guardian, 21 December 2014
"There were Quarter Pounders, too, and Big Macs, and — perhaps the piece de resistance — a tray of silver bowls full of single-serve tubs of dipping sauce for chicken nuggets."
— Maura Judkis, The Washington Post, 15 January 2019
has this page helped you understand "piece de resistance"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "piece de resistance" without saying "showpiece" or "centerpiece."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is the appetizer; _____ is the piece de resistance."
Example: "Harry's whimsical first year of chocolate frogs, magic spells, and flying broomsticks is the appetizer; his harrowing final year of facing evil and gaining self-possession is the piece de resistance."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Big Bang Thicket."
In each issue, hack your way through the polysyllabic title of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer the question about what happens in that episode.
From the previous issue:
In "The Fortification Implementation," do Amy and Sheldon create a defensive hideout that strengthens their relationship, or do they create a balance sheet that introduces financial stress into their relationship?
Answer:
They build the blanket fort and strengthen their relationship. A fortification is anything that adds strength.
Try this one today:
In "The Separation Oscillation," do Penny and Leonard get closer and closer to separating or go back and forth between separating and staying together?
review this word:
1. A near opposite of PIÈCES DE RÉSISTANCE is
A. BRIO.
B. CHAFF.
C. FREE-HEARTEDNESS.
2. A true showman, he teased the audience, boosting their _____ before _____ the piece de resistance.
A. fears .. allaying
B. appetite .. serving up
C. temperature .. setting them aflame with
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Sometimes my cat Layla is so cute I just want to eat her.
"PIECE DE RESISTANCE" This term is French for "main dish (of a meal)." You'll see this literal meaning used in older texts, but it's rarely used today.
"Castro has slightly opened the economy, allowing private entrepreneurs to run businesses. Restaurants, beauty parlors, repair shops have sprung up all over Havana. He eliminated the hated travel permit that Cubans needed to leave the country. Cubans are now allowed to sell real estate and cars for the first time in nearly 50 years. And now, the piece de resistance: diplomatic relations with the United States."
Explain the meaning of "piece de resistance" without saying "showpiece" or "centerpiece."
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is the appetizer; _____ is the piece de resistance."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of PIÈCES DE RÉSISTANCE is
|