secret sauce

noun

: a sauce that adds an important element to a dish and that has ingredients which are typically kept secret

A frank of beef, pork, and veal … is split lengthwise, coated with secret sauce, and cooked on a grill.—

Jane and Michael Stern

called also special sauce

: an element, quality, ability, or practice that makes something or someone successful or distinctive

If leadership has a secret sauce, it may well be humility. A humble boss understands that there are things he doesn't know.—

The Economist

called also special sauce

Examples of secret sauce in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Inc 5000: For all the noise about big-name companies departing, California’s economic secret sauce is its entrepreneurs’ knack for creating new ventures. —

Jonathan Lansner, Orange County Register, 14 Nov. 2024 But beyond the history, the sites, and the bites, Lisbon has something else that is its real secret sauce: a warmth that's unmatched. —

Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2024 The secret sauce of surfaceology, though, is that each of the snaking curves on the surface replaces hordes of Feynman diagrams. —

Charlie Wood, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024 The real secret sauce, though: Simon Pegg and Nick Frost as lovable best friends. —

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for secret sauce