Noun
last word (plural last words)
- (idiomatic, often preceded by the and followed by in) The finest, highest, or ultimate representative of some class of objects.
- 1917, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams, ch. 39:
- Little Joe's mother's cake was the last word in cakes.
- 1928, D. H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley's Lover, ch. 3:
- Michaelis was the last word in what was caddish and bounderish.
- 1917, Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams, ch. 39:
- (idiomatic) Concluding remark; final observation, advice, or instructions.
- 1877, Henry James, The American, ch. 12:
- "I have got my leave, and that is all I want."
- "You had better receive the last word from my mother," said the marquis.
- "Very good; I will go and get it," said Newman.
- 1918, W. H. Hudson, Far Away and Long Ago, ch. 24:
- [W]hen we had grasped hands for the last time and had said our last good-bye, he added this one more last word: "Of all the people I have ever known you are the only one I don't know."
- 1877, Henry James, The American, ch. 12:
- (often, pluralized) The final statement uttered by a person before death.
- 1889 Sept. 11, Mark Twain, "Last Words of Great Men ↗," Buffalo Express:
- Benjamin Franklin. . . pondered over his last words for as much as two weeks, and then when the time came, he said, "None but the brave deserve the fair," and died happy.
- 1912, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World, ch. 7:
- This account I am transmitting down the river by canoe, and it may be our last word to those who are interested in our fate.
- 1889 Sept. 11, Mark Twain, "Last Words of Great Men ↗," Buffalo Express:
- (idiomatic) A final decision, or the right to make such a decision.
- 2008 July 9, Jeff Israely, "[http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821203,00.html Where Is the Afghan Female Runner?]," Time:
- An Afghan Olympic official said the team holds the right to substitute Andyar with another female athlete, though the IOC would have the last word.
- 2008 July 9, Jeff Israely, "[http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1821203,00.html Where Is the Afghan Female Runner?]," Time:
- (finest or ultimate representative): exemplar
- German: Krone, Nonplusultra
- Italian: non plus ultra
- Russian: после́днее сло́во
- German: letztes Wort
- Italian: l'ultima parola
- French: dernière paroles
- German: letztes Wort
- Russian: после́днее сло́во
- German: letztes Wort
- Russian: после́днее сло́во
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.006
