coup de main

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coup de main

/ku də meɪn/
/ku də mæn/

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French coup de main.

noun coups de main

A sudden development or action carried out to surprise an enemy. That which of all things he most dreaded was that he should be out-generalled by Mr. Slope; and just at present it appeared probable that Mr. Slope would turn his flank, steal a march on him, cut off his provisions, carry his strong town by a coup de main, and at last beat him thoroughly in a regula

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MLA

"coup de main." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/coup%20de%20main. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

coup de main. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/coup%20de%20main

Chicago

"coup de main." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/coup%20de%20main.

BibTeX

@misc{coup_de_main_2026,
  title = {coup de main},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/coup%20de%20main},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}