swan song

noun

: a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan

: a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement

Did you know?

Swans don't sing. They whistle or trumpet, or in the case of the swan most common in ponds, the mute swan, they only hiss and snort. But according to ancient legend, the swan does sing one beautiful song in its life-just before it dies. References in English to the dying swan's lovely singing go back as far as Chaucer, but the term swan song itself didn't appear in the language until the 1830s, when Thomas Carlyle used it in Sartor Resartus. Carlyle probably based his "swan song" on the German version of the term, which is Schwanengesang or Schwanenlied.

Examples of swan song in a Sentence

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Writing on Instagram, Cole said that the April 5-6 show in Raleigh, North Carolina’ Dorothea Dix Park will be the event’s swan song. —

Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 11 Dec. 2024 But the pièce de résistance was the Artisanal show earlier this year, which turned out to be Galliano’s swan song at Maison Margiela, celebrated throughout the year with exhibitions, a documentary, and a special Paolo Roversi photo shoot for Luncheon magazine. —

Miles Socha, WWD, 11 Dec. 2024 Bando is a swan song with something for everyone, offering particulate cringe for the naysayers and sunny grooves for the devoted. —

Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 24 July 2024 From an anti-capitalist kicker that’s still pretty funny to the priceless promise of Gir in an elf suit, this impromptu finale doubles as an oddly perfect swan song. —

Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 17 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for swan song