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
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
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.
She was not a ballon d’essai; she was literally the whole show; and if she duplicated the sensational success of poor little Miss Claridge, we had nothing to fear.
From The Maids of Paradise by Chambers, Robert W. (Robert William)
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)
