swan song
- noun
- /swɑn sɔŋ/
- Informal
- Could it be his swan song out of the Oval Office?
- sing their swan song
Could it be his swan song out of the Oval Office?
- Could it be his swan song out of the Oval Office?
- So maybe this will finally be the swan song for the Aventador platform.
- I think that could be like your, your, your swan song.
- Now I've become an activist having been, you know, it's my first and and possibly a swan song as a director, I don't know.
- And that was what Night Mother was, was a piece, you know, a swan song of like, let's not be fluffy about suicide.
Examples
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A swan song to remember.
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Paul stuck around just to cause trouble and for a final swan song.
Blog text (11) -
This is our swan song.
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- Some swan song for the old man, huh?
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But I think this would make a hell of a swan song.
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Thanks for including everyone in the swan song.
Blog text (16) -
Jackson Evans has chosen to make putting a woman in office his swan song.
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Filling this slot may well be his swan song.
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What a fitting swan song for the Barden Bellas.
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The author released a beautiful new album as his swan song before retiring.
Synonyms
A speech or action that says goodbye and wishes someone well
The last, most exciting part of a show or event
A final big action or event before something ends
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
swan + song
The meaning 'a final performance or act' is not directly derivable from the literal constituents 'swan' and 'song'—a B1 learner who knows those words would most likely interpret it as a literal song associated with a swan. The idiomatic sense depends on a cultural/mythical belief (the swan's death-song) and so requires prior exposure or cultural knowledge, making it unpredictable from the parts.
Etymology
Swan song comes from an old idea that a swan makes a beautiful song just before it dies, and people thought that last sound was very moving. That's why swan song now means 'a final performance or work'.