tours de force

noun, plural tours de force

[too

rz duh fawrs, -fohrs; French toor duh fawrs] .

an exceptional achievement by an artist, author, or the like, that is unlikely to be equaled by that person or anyone else; stroke of genius: Herman Melville's Moby Dick was a tour de force.

a particularly adroit maneuver or technique in handling a difficult situation: The way the president got his bill through the Senate was a tour de force.

a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity.

Origin:
1795–1805; < French: feat of strength or skill

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary

tour de force (tur də fɔrs, English ˈtʊə də ˈfɔːs)

—n , pl tours de force
	a masterly or brilliant stroke, creation, effect, or accomplishment

[literally: feat of skill or strength]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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00:10

Tours de force is always a great word to know.

So is slumgullion. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

tour de force [(toor duh fawrs)]

A feat accomplished through great skill and ability: “The speech was a tour de force; it swept the audience off its feet.”

Matching Quote

"In France, and at the most important period of our history, Catherine de' Medici has suffered more from popular error than any other woman, unless it be Brunehaut or Frédégonde; while Marie de' Medici, whose every action was prejudicial to France, has escaped the disgrace that should cover her name.... Catherine de' Medici ... saved the throne of France, she maintained [the] Royal authority under circumstances to which more than one great prince would have succumbed. Face to face with such leaders of the factions and ambitions of the houses of Guise and of Bourbon as the two Cardinals de Lorraine and the two "Balafrès," the two Princes de Condé, Queen Jeanne d'Albret, Henri IV, the Connétable de Montmorency, Calvin, the Colignys and Théodore de Bèze, she was forced to put forth the rarest fine qualities, the most essential gifts of statesmanship, under the fire of the Calvinist press."

-Honoré De Balzac

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