swan song

noun

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

: a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement

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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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One of only seven made, the example represents the postwar swan song of the coachbuilding era, before more modern construction techniques took over. —

Ben Oliver, Robb Report, 14 Jan. 2025 There’s bigger things at play — a shot at the playoffs, contract incentives, etc. – that ultimately dwarf would could be the legendary quarterback’s swan song. —

Pierre Taylor, Miami Herald, 4 Jan. 2025 If Sunday’s Season 5 finale of Yellowstone really does turn out to be the series’ swan song, viewers will be happy with the way Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount Network hit rides off into the sunset — at least according to the cast. —

Charlie Mason, TVLine, 10 Dec. 2024 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 See all Example Sentences for swan song