caviar to the general

caviar to the general

Something of an exceptionally high quality or intelligence not befitting or appreciated by those who consume, see, or partake in it. "General" here refers to the general population, not a military general. I wrote several novels earlier in my career that were very well received by academics, but they were caviar to the general and never achieved popular success.
See also: general
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

caviar to the general

a good thing that is not appreciated by the ignorant.
This phrase comes from Shakespeare 's Hamlet, where Hamlet commends a play with the words: ‘the play, I remember, pleased not the million; 'twas caviar to the general’.
See also: general
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • partake of
  • partake of (something)
  • stay for
  • stay for (something)
  • have a pick-me-up
  • play at
  • play at (doing something)
  • partake
  • partake in
  • partook
References in periodicals archive
Why It Could Sink: LaChiusa has always been caviar to the general. Will the subject matter carry much punch east of the Rockies?
Waiting in the wings beyond Broadway
But because it was a big word, the hoi polloi thought it was caviar to the general, too esoteric for their comprehension and let it go.
Moment of Truth
Histoire(s) du Cinema (1998), for example, an eight-part meditation on the nature of the medium, exploits the advantages of video technology to create montages that meld the private with the public, history with imagery (and Elizabeth Taylor with concentration camps); they allow "the eye to negotiate for itself." All this sounds a little like caviar to the general public; Godard himself has estimated that his audience comprises only a hundred thousand devotees.
Colin MacCabe. Godard: A Portrait of the Artist at Seventy