Definition

Noun: - The featured soup of the day: The specific soup that a restaurant has prepared and is offering for sale on a particular day, often as a special item that changes daily.

Usage

This term is used almost exclusively in restaurant contexts. It appears on menus to indicate that the soup offering is not a permanent menu item but a daily special. It is a direct borrowing from French, meaning "soup of the day."

Examples

• Noun:
  • For the appetizer, I'll have the soup du jour.
  • The soup du jour today is a creamy tomato basil.
  • Please ask your server what the soup du jour is.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used humorously or metaphorically outside of a culinary context to refer to something that is the current, temporary offering or trend.
  • In the meeting, the manager's new policy was just the soup du jour—I'm sure it will change again next week.

Variants and Related Words

• Soup of the day: This is the direct English translation and equivalent phrase for "soup du jour." It is more common in casual dining.
• Plat du jour: A related French term meaning "dish of the day," referring to a daily special main course.
• Special: A general term for any dish that is a temporary offering.

Synonyms

• Daily soup
• Chef's soup special

Notes on Meaning

This term has a single, specific meaning related to food service. It does not have different meanings, phrasal verbs, or idioms associated with it in common English usage. Its use is formulaic within its specific context.

Noun

1. the soup that a restaurant is featuring on a given day