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prowess

high ability

TRANSLATION

prowess = Fähigkeiten, Können, Tüchtigkeit, Heldenmut, Tapferkeit, Talent —— athletic prowess = sportliches Können —— business prowess = Geschäftsgeschick —— linguistic prowess = meisterhafte Sprachbegabung

STATISTICS

IN THE PRESS

“Meanwhile, at the bilateral level, those who raise concerns about Chinese PROWESS vis-à-vis India in terms of scale and economy, should remember how a much smaller Vietnam taught China a lesson in 1979.”

Krishan Varma - Sunday Guardian Live (27 June 2020)

Did you
know?

prowess
noun

- superior skill or ability

- skill or expertise in a particular activity or field

The American Heritage Dictionary / Oxford Languages


ORIGIN

“Prowess” derives from the early 13th century French prouess meaning “an act of bravery”.


POLITICAL PROWESS

The UK Prime Minister, Secretary of Finance and Secretary of State are flying together to a meeting in Brussels.

The Secretary of Finance takes out a 100-pound note and says “I’m going to throw this out of the plane and make one of our people down there happy. After all, we are in the midst of an economic crisis.”

The Secretary of State proudly stands up and says, “If that was my 100-pound note, I would split it into two 50-pound notes and make two people down there happy. All problems require diplomatic solutions.”

The UK Prime Minister sees his chance and says, “I would split it into a hundred 1-pound notes and throw them out to make 100 people happier. I need the votes in the next general election.”

At this point, the pilot joins the three politicians in the cabin and says “If it was me, I would throw all three of you out of this plane and make 50 million people happy.”


SYNONYMS
for skill or expertise in a particular activity or field

ability, acuity, acumen, adeptness, adroitness, aptitude, artistry, brilliance, calibre, capability, chops, claim to fame, clout, competence, craftsmanship, cutting the mustard, efficacity, excellence, hacking it, making the grade, mastery, mojo, moxie, pre-eminence, pzazz, right stuff, savvy, specialty, strong suit, superiority, the formula, whatever it takes, wherewithal, wizardry


SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Bob likes to brag about his driving PROWESS, but take a sedative first if you are going to ride with him.”


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and,

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40

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