last word, the—
1. (also: last thing, the) smth. that is most up-to-date; smth. that cannot be surpassed:
- These three white trucks represent the last word in modern emergency equipment.
2. said of a person or thing that is as bad as it is possible to find:
- Don’t talk to me about untidy kids. I’ve got two at home that are the last word.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase one final word—(also: one final thing) used to introduce a parting comment or advice:
- “One final word, keep your chin up.” “Good advice!”
last words—an utterance that was the last smb. made before dying:
- The victim of the crime, in her last words, declares, quite unprotestingly, that it is what she expected.
Note: The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase famous last words—
1. the final statement made by a famous person who is dying:
- James Lawrence, whose famous last words were “Don’t give up the ship,” is buried next to steamboat inventor Robert Fulton.
2. (ironic) a remark or prediction likely to be proved wrong by events:
- “With modern technology, we can climb Everest in half the time it took Hillary in 1953.” “Famous last words!”