pas de deux

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word pas de deux. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word pas de deux, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say pas de deux in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word pas de deux you have here. The definition of the word pas de deux will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofpas de deux, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from French pas de deux (literally step of two). Compare paso doble.

Noun

pas de deux (plural pas de deux)

  1. (dance) A dance performed by two dancers.
    • 1845, Charles Dickens, chapter 4, in Pictures From Italy:
      The way in which they dance . . . the final passion of a pas-de-deux; and the going off with a bound!—I shall never see a real ballet, with a composed countenance again.
    • 1921, Margaret Pedler, chapter 5, in The Lamp of Fate:
      The Russian was a beautiful youth, like a sun-god with his flying yellow locks and glorious symmetry of body, and the pas de deux between him and Magda was a thing to marvel at.
    • 2003 November 19, Richard Corliss, “That Old Feeling: The Show at the Casino”, in Time:
      But at the end of the show, as two senior citizens are brought from the audience to dance together — first tentatively, then springing into a graceful acrobatic pas de deux — we realize that the human body's most sensuous organ is the head.
  2. (figuratively) A complicated relationship or process involving two entities, usually persons.
    • 1985, Roger Ebert, "White Nights" film review:
      But "White Nights" has been made in a cynical world where it is actually believed that a dance movie will interest more people if it is also a thriller: a pas de deux between the CIA and the KGB, if you will.
    • 2018, Alex Blasdel, “Bowel movement: the push to change the way you poo”, in Guardian:
      As the rectum fills with the products of digestion, it signals, through nerves running into the sacral region of the spinal cord, that defecation may be necessary. The internal and external anal sphincters then begin a culturally mediated pas de deux, the former pressing for release and the latter restricting discharge until the opportune moment.

Translations

References

Further reading