crème de la crème en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Borrowed from French crème de la crème (literally “cream of the cream”).
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, singular, singular-only, uncountable) Best of the best; something superlative; the very best.
He studied engineering and architecture at the Politecnico di Torino and the fancy Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées—one of those Paris institutions for the crème de la crème de la crème^([sic]).
2025 April 26, Caroline Roux, “The age of adaption”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC:To be an astronaut you must be the crème de la crème.
Whether you've been on the hunt for a pair of quality overalls or you just wanna cosplay as Mrs. Robert Rausch (the ‘Love Island’ girlies know), these ones from Dickies are the crème de la crème.
2024 October 8, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “65+ Fall Prime Day Fashion Deals Your Closet Is Begging You to Shop”, in Cosmopolitan:‘Plainly,’ said Miss Brodie, ‘you were not listening to me. If only you small girls would listen to me I would make of you the crème de la crème.’
1961, Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, page 14:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| creme de la creme | alternative | lexicographic |
Synonyms
pick of the crop · cream of the crop · best of the best
Translations (20)
es flor y nata (best of the best) · no crème de la crème (best of the best) · fi kerma (best of the best) · es crem de la crem (best of the best) · pl śmietanka (best of the best) · fi parhaimmisto (best of the best) · fr top du top (best of the best) · da creme de la creme (best of the best) · no der oppe (best of the best) · pt nata da sociedade (best of the best) · fr nec plus ultra (best of the best) · fr fin du fin (best of the best) · nl crème de la crème (best of the best) · fr crème de la crème (best of the best) · fr fine fleur (best of the best) · de Crème de la Crème (best of the best) · sv gräddan (best of the best) · es lo mejor de lo mejor (best of the best) · id crème de la crème (best of the best) · no kremen av kremen (best of the best)