force majeure

“It’s just convenient and easy for people who want to spend their time pointing fingers instead of looking forward. This was an act of God. This was a force majeure. This was beyond anybody’s control.”

The landlocked country is facing an economic crisis due to a decline in oil exports after war-torn Sudan declared force majeure on oil shipments – South Sudan’s main export — passing through the country in March.

"People aren't here by choice, some are here for unfortunate reason, by 'force majeure', but some are great fun."

Headwinds have always blown around in business English, but the phrase economic headwinds serves a special purpose: a majestic waving of the hand, an abandon to the fates, an inkling of force majeure.

He described the cat’s death as “force majeure,” a legal term for an unforeseeable catastrophe usually reserved for natural cataclysms and terrorist attacks.