ne plus ultra

Related to ne plus ultra: sine qua non

ne plus ultra

The peak or highest point (of something). The film is often considered the ne plus ultra of the director's oeuvre. To this day, her administration is considered the ne plus ultra of political scandal.
See also: Ne, plus, ultra
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ne plus ultra

Ultimate perfection, the highest point to which something can be brought. The words are Latin for “nothing further” and allegedly quoted an inscription on the Pillars of Hercules, in the Strait of Gibraltar, meant to prevent ships from going any farther. The term was taken over into English in the 1600s and with overuse became a cliché. For example, “In the fascination of young Russians for Western things, jeans are the ne plus ultra of the modish. . . .” (Collin Thubron, Among the Russians, 1983).
See also: Ne, plus, ultra
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

ne plus ultra

The highest point of excellence, acme. Loosely translated from the Latin for “there is no reason to go further,” the phrase is a synonym of “zenith.” A new car with all the most modern features that any buyer could wish for (or so the manufacturer claims) might be touted as the ne plus ultra of automobiles. Legend has it that “ne plus ultra”—in its literal sense—was inscribed on Gibraltar's Pillars of Hercules as a warning to mariners not to venture, depending on the direction in which they were sailing, into the Atlantic Ocean or the Mediterranean Sea.
See also: Ne, plus, ultra
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • ultra
  • acceptable losses
  • all things considered
  • put (one) up to (something)
  • put someone up to
  • put up to
  • dog day afternoon
  • afternoon
  • dog days
  • be in step (with someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
The five-volume Guanzhui pian (literally The Tube and Awl Collection) represents the ne plus ultra achievement of Qian Zhongshu (1910-1998), widely acclaimed as China's most erudite literary scholar of the twentieth century.
Qian Zhongshu. Limited Views: Essays on Ideas and Letters
"This instrument is the ne plus ultra of organs," he says.
Western Wanderings
Cage's 4'33" announced the end of art, the ne plus ultra of a hundred-fifty-year process, more radically and years earlier than did the Brilo boxes of Andy Warhol, who indeed frankly acknowledged his debt to Cage.
Global Requiem: The Apocalyptic Moment in Religion, Science, and Art
A minister who sings in the choir, plays piano for hymn-sings or, the ne plus ultra, knows at least three or four chords on the guitar and will use them to lure three or four more young people into coming out regularly need not worry about his or her sermons, even if they are good.
Noteless and clueless, many preachers announce their texts only to wave them goodbye
By mid-October, officials plan to release what promises to be the ne plus ultra of city reports, the Mayor's Report on City Services, the very first publication devoted solely to telling the citizenry how quickly bureaucrats are clearing their backlogs, how devotedly maintenance crews are fixing up ball fields, and much else.
Did the city cut more grass in '96? New report will measure services
In my opinion, no other existing treatise on the income taxation of estates, trusts and beneficiaries can compare--it is unquestionably the ne plus ultra.
Income Taxation of Fiduciaries and Beneficiaries
That last word is almost meaninglessly over-used, every city in the capitalist world proclaiming this or that designer pile as the ne plus ultra of achievement.
Cloistered creativity
At its worst, masculism can sound like the ne plus ultra of political correctness: The pantheon of the oppressed is completed by the admission of straight white guys.
Man troubles: making sense of the men's movement
The state circus I saw in Moscow in 1987 offered the ne plus ultra of the mollycoddle approach.
Major swinger
The main reason champagne is the ne plus ultra of bubbly is the way it is made, with a second fermentation occurring in bottle to give the wine its sparkle.
How to choose sparkling wines by flavor
Witness 70 bands from all throughout the country perform simultaneously on 3 big stages from afternoon until dawn: get groovy with some reggae and ska vibes from Tropical Depression, Jeck Pilpil and Peacepipe, Brownman Revival, Reggae Mistress, Powerspoonz, Smooth Friction and other feelgood artists at the Groove Stage; jump to the beats of pop and alternative music with Rocksteddy, The Oktaves, Gracenote, Drive Me To Juliet, Imago, Mayonnaise, and other crowd favorites at the Move Stage; and reign triumphant in the mosh pit as Slapshock, Razorback, Wilabaliw, Urbandub, Skychurch, Lostthreads, and many other hard hitters bring the "Rak" in "Rakrakan" at the Mosh Stage definitely, a ne plus ultra of its kind in the annals of Philippine history!
Rakrakan tickets still available
When they do, that will be the ne plus ultra of .380 handguns, at least for me."
Best .380?
It's highlighted by the ne plus ultra of heist sequencesalmost a half-hour long, mostly silent, shot without dialogue or music: so good it was later imitated by actual criminals.
No. 52: Rififi
David Beckham is the ne plus ultra of the metrosexual, if you were still wondering, even though he's not single.
the quest for eternal youth; Boytox - or, quite simply, Botox for boys - is on the rise. But the question Matt Thomas wants answered is, why?
Rodefer is a storyteller ne plus ultra: "I mean, interviews" he notes, "They should first of all be cool reads, and then also something informative.
Stephen Rodefer's position