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
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 T. M. (Thomas Michael) Kettle
This is no doubt what is technically known as a ballon d'essai.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, May 10, 1916 by Sir Owen Seaman
This little ballon d'essai met the fate of many such, for the manuscript was returned within a fortnight.
From William Hickling Prescott by Harry Thurston Peck
I would send out the thing as a ballon d'essai, to see if anyone would read it for itself, or would detect me underneath the disguise.
From Escape, and Other Essays by Arthur Christopher Benson
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