secret sauce
noun
1
: a sauce that adds an important element to a dish and that has ingredients which are typically kept secret
A frank of beef, pork, and veal … is split lengthwise, coated with secret sauce, and cooked on a grill.—
Jane and Michael Stern
Jane and Michael Sterncalled also special sauce
2
: an element, quality, ability, or practice that makes something or someone successful or distinctive
If leadership has a secret sauce, it may well be humility. A humble boss understands that there are things he doesn't know.—The Economist
The Economistcalled also special sauce
Examples of secret sauce in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
If true, who knew that government bureaucrats found the secret sauce to keep people living longer?
Congressional Democrats: How can anyone expect to root out waste, fraud, and abuse without actually looking at how government agencies spend our tax dollars?
Democrats cry foul here.
—Matt Klink, Orange County Register, 19 Feb. 2025
Let markets and innovation be the message, and — when asked — make clear that America’s secret sauce is openness, opportunity, and the rule of law.
—Sean P. Brooks, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Feb. 2025
One part meticulous planning, one part alchemy—that’s their secret sauce.
—Vogue, 13 Feb. 2025
Their balanced attack has proven, yet again, to be their secret sauce.
—Chantel Jennings, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secret sauce
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Matt Klink, Orange County Register, 19 Feb. 2025
Let markets and innovation be the message, and — when asked — make clear that America’s secret sauce is openness, opportunity, and the rule of law.
—Sean P. Brooks, Orlando Sentinel, 14 Feb. 2025
One part meticulous planning, one part alchemy—that’s their secret sauce.
—Vogue, 13 Feb. 2025
Their balanced attack has proven, yet again, to be their secret sauce.
—Chantel Jennings, The Athletic, 24 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for secret sauce
Articles Related to secret sauce
Cite this Entry
“Secret sauce.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/secret%20sauce. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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