[too
r duh fawrs, -fohrs; Fr. toor duh fawrs] 
[toorz duh fawrs, -fohrs; Fr. toor duh fawrs] . | 1. | 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. |
| 2. | 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. |
| 3. | a feat requiring unusual strength, skill, or ingenuity. |
| tour de force (tōōr' də fôrs', fōrs') n. pl. tours de force (tōōr') A feat requiring great virtuosity or strength, often deliberately undertaken for its difficulty: "In an extraordinary structural tour de force the novel maintains a dual focus" (Julian Moynahan). [French : tour, turn, feat + de, of + force, strength.] |