swan song
noun
1
: a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan
2
: a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement
Did you know?
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.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web But the pressure on the No. 1 seed was lessened, of course, by the tournament’s dominant story line: the swan song of Serena Williams. 
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2022 The motif was big and heavy, and this might be his swan song. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 10 Feb. 2022 This was a perfect swan song for the Spider-Man trilogy, but also left the door open for more adventures in the future. Jacob Siegal, BGR, 9 July 2022 To me, 4:44 had the makings of being Hov’s swan song. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 24 May 2022 Despite the temptation to consider the concerto — finished just months before Mozart’s death — a swan song, this is a work of singular, almost problematic, affability. Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2022 Matador Records catalog with the Farewell Horizontal edition of their 1999 studio swan song Terror Twilight. Ron Hart, SPIN, 25 Apr. 2022 Still, Flesh + Blood secured Roxy Music’s invite to the cocktail party that is the ‘80s, a worthy aperitif for their swan song to come. Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022 Ulvaeus, 76, and Andersson, 74, told the outlet that while the group reunited for the record after parting ways in the early '80s, the new music will be ABBA's swan song, noting that the tracks that don't make it onto Voyage will remain unfinished. Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 28 Oct. 2021 See More
Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2022 The motif was big and heavy, and this might be his swan song. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 10 Feb. 2022 This was a perfect swan song for the Spider-Man trilogy, but also left the door open for more adventures in the future. Jacob Siegal, BGR, 9 July 2022 To me, 4:44 had the makings of being Hov’s swan song. Billboard Staff, Billboard, 24 May 2022 Despite the temptation to consider the concerto — finished just months before Mozart’s death — a swan song, this is a work of singular, almost problematic, affability. Lukas Schulze, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 June 2022 Matador Records catalog with the Farewell Horizontal edition of their 1999 studio swan song Terror Twilight. Ron Hart, SPIN, 25 Apr. 2022 Still, Flesh + Blood secured Roxy Music’s invite to the cocktail party that is the ‘80s, a worthy aperitif for their swan song to come. Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022 Ulvaeus, 76, and Andersson, 74, told the outlet that while the group reunited for the record after parting ways in the early '80s, the new music will be ABBA's swan song, noting that the tracks that don't make it onto Voyage will remain unfinished. Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE.com, 28 Oct. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
1831, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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