beau geste

Karla: While opening his home was a beau geste on your friend’s part, closing the door to his boss guest is easier said than done.

Unfortunately, Mr. Obama’s penchant for the beau geste carries a high price for Americans, not to mention other, less fortunate citizens of the world.

Still, in city politics, even the beau geste can be fraught.

"It wasn't a beau geste," Laurent Jalabert, the retired French grand tour winner who now commentates for TV, said as last night's stage ended.

The American flung his empty M-1 in the faces of forty Japanese ... toujours le beau geste.