Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
No pronunciation record was provided for this word.
noun
An epigram or bon mot: "Everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true except for that rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge."
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Coined by Attorney General of the United States William French Smith in 1982 (see quotation below), named after American journalist Erwin Knoll.
