pis aller

9.9

A last choice used only when nothing better exists

noun
/piːz ɑːˈleɪ/

Formal

: último recurso

She considered borrowing money only as a pis aller when all other options were exhausted.

Examples

Using the old typewriter was a pis aller after her computer broke down.
The compromise was accepted merely as a pis aller by both parties.
This is a pis aller for me.
Choosing to stay in that job was a pis aller for her.
She considered borrowing money only as a pis aller when all other options were exhausted.
Using the old typewriter was a pis aller after her computer broke down.
The compromise was accepted merely as a pis aller by both parties.

Synonyms

last resort

vspis aller

69 3.5

A final thing you try when all other options have failed

is chosen only when no better alternative is available

desperate measure

vspis aller

14 5.7

An extreme action you take when all other options fail

is a last available choice that need not be extreme

Antonyms

best option

22 1.3

A choice that is most suitable among other choices

Surface Forms

pis aller singular

pis allers plural

Morphology

pis + aller

This is a French loanword (pis aller) whose components are not English lexical items in the learner's mental lexicon, so there is no transparent compositional path from known English words to the meaning 'last resort'. As an idiomatic import with language-specific history, its meaning must be learned or translated rather than inferred from constituents, making it opaque to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Pis aller may come from the French words pis and aller, where pis meant 'worse' and aller meant 'to go', giving the image of going to the worst option. So, it means 'a last resort'.