General Discussion

muriel_volestrangler

(105,901 posts)

7. It's strength on the part of the actor (author, in this case)

Wed Dec 21, 2016, 07:17 AM

Dec 2016

Oxford English Dictionary: "A feat of strength, power, or skill"
1st known use in English:
1802 Ld. Elgin Let. 18 Feb. in Paget Papers (1896) II. 41 To exult over what is styled a tour de force of the British Influence here.

Other dictionaries and similar books agree it's a positive phrase, describing the skill or effort of the person doing it:

Bloomsbury Good Word Guide: "The French expression tour de force is used to refer to a performance or achievement that shows great skill, strength, etc.: "
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language "A feat requiring great virtuosity or strength, often deliberately undertaken for its difficulty"
etc.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

9 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Embattled former Virgin Islands senator releases 800-page, cutting-edge etiquette book [View all] TexasTowelie Dec 2016 OP

iUniverse is a self-publishing imprint, not owned by Penguin, but Najafi, a private equity firm muriel_volestrangler Dec 2016 #1

"tour de force" is actually an insult, not a praise... DetlefK Dec 2016 #2

Do you have any source for that particular definition? JHB Dec 2016 #3

Well, in german it's a negative term. DetlefK Dec 2016 #4

Except this isn't about German usage, it's about English usage... JHB Dec 2016 #5

That's weird. Could you explain further? DetlefK Dec 2016 #6

That's right. A case of the same borrowed phrase evolving in different directions... JHB Dec 2016 #8

It's strength on the part of the actor (author, in this case) muriel_volestrangler Dec 2016 #7

Are you sure it's used negatively? muriel_volestrangler Dec 2016 #9