ballon d'essai
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Germans would simply use the small offer, not as a ballon d'essai, but as a means of inaugurating direct negotiations.
From Time Magazine Archive
And in the early morning she had sent her note to Kitty—a ballon d'essai, despatched in a horror of great fear.
From The Marriage of William Ashe by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.
This little ballon d'essai met the fate of many such, for the manuscript was returned within a fortnight.
From William Hickling Prescott by Peck, Harry Thurston
It was to have been a mere joke, a mere ballon d'essai.
From The Master of Mrs. Chilvers by Jerome, Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka)
It was not received with universal favour, and, to avert dissension, it was represented as a mere ballon d'essai and was abandoned.
From The Open Secret of Ireland by Kettle, T. M. (Thomas Michael)
