What does ne plus ultra mean?
As Cecil Adams once put it, “French is the language of international pretension par excellence.” Fashion magazines can use “ne plus ultra” because they get tired of saying “the best”. Putting it in French not only makes them look très chic, but it also gives them a little wiggle room because nobody knows what they’re talking about. It gives them that je ne sais quoi. Literally, it just means “nothing more beyond”, which of course is rubbish because this year’s fashions will be rubbish three months from now. And they’ll have a whole new line of shoes and lipsticks for next season.
