[kooduh grahs] 
[kooduh grahs] . French. | 1. | a death blow, esp. one delivered mercifully to end suffering. |
| 2. | any finishing or decisive stroke. |
| coup de grâce (kōō' də gräs') n. pl. coups de grâce (kōō')
[French : coup, stroke + de, of + grâce, mercy.] |
The final blow: “He had been getting deeper and deeper in debt; the fates delivered the coup de grâce when he died.” The phrase is French for “stroke of mercy.” It originally referred to the merciful stroke that put a fatally wounded person out of his misery or to the shot delivered to the head of a prisoner after he had faced a firing squad.
