coup manque
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A false stroke, a miss, a failure. Shoot dead, or don't aim at all; but never make a coup manqug.— OUIDA: Under Two Flags, ch. xx.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “coup manque” mean?
A false stroke, a miss, a failure. Shoot dead, or don't aim at all; but never make a coup manqug.— OUIDA: Under Two Flags, ch. xx.
Is “coup manque” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.