pis aller
/piːzˈaleɪ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.16 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
1
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A last resort.
Example Sentences
- "Soh! she would secure me as a pis aller, I suppose, in case Mr Rashleigh Osbaldistone should not take compassion upon her!"
- "Love, in fact, having in this modern world-movement been denied, and its natural manifestations affected with a sense of guilt and of sin, has really languished and ceased to play its natural part in life; and a vast number of people - both men and women, finding themselves barred or derailed from the main object of existence, have turned their energies to 'business' or 'money-making' or 'social advancement' or something equally futile, as the only poor substitute and pis aller open to them."
- "To tell the truth the Army seems the likeliest pis aller – though I am not very militant."
- "Mungo is on his feet, lurching with the boat, dipping into the bright tatters of his shirt for the smooth ivory grip of his secret weapon, his pis aller, the gleaming silver-plated pistol Johnson had pressed on him with a parting benediction."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- British English: /piːzˈaleɪ/