on the tapis

English edit

Alternative form of upon the tapis
- 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LXII, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 165:
  "Well, I must say, it is a comfort to have any body like you about one, Helen, for Georgiana (...) is really over head and ears in love with that sailor (...); she thinks of nothing else, I am convinced, though the most spirit-stirring affair in the world is on the tapis—your brother Glentworth's election.
- 1884, Rosa Nouchette Carey, Robert Ord's Atonement, page 216:
  And a sudden chorus of “Oh noes,” uttered ironically by the other boys, brought Aunt Belle on the tapis, with a stern admonition to be quiet.