crème de la crème

• creme de la creme

Borrowed from French crème de la crème (literally “cream of the cream”).

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (UK):

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crème de la crème (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, singular only) Best of the best; something superlative; the very best.

   To be an astronaut you must be the crème de la crème.

   • 1961, Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, page 14:

     ‘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.’

   • 2024 October 8, Megan Uy, Tarah-Lynn Saint-Elien, “65+ Fall Prime Day Fashion Deals Your Closet Is Begging You to Shop”, in Cosmopolitan‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2025 April 26, Caroline Roux, “The age of adaption”, in FT Weekend:

     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].

• cream of the crop
• best of the best
• pick of the crop

Borrowed from French crème de la crème.

• IPA^(key): /krɛm də laː krɛm/

crème de la crème f (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) crème de la crème

   Synonyms: neusje van de zalm, je van het

• IPA^(key): /kʁɛm də la kʁɛm/

• Audio (France):

  (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

crème de la crème f (uncountable)

1. crème de la crème (the best of something)

   Synonym: fine fleur

• → Danish: creme de la creme, crème de la crème
• → Dutch: crème de la crème
• → English: crème de la crème, creme de la creme
• → German: Crème de la Crème
• → Norwegian: crème de la crème