Ballon d'essai is a French term that refers to a trial balloon or pilot balloon. It is typically used to mean a test run or rough draft, and is often used in reference to political policy ideas or proposals that are floated to gauge public support. There are several synonyms for the term ballon d'essai, including feasibility study, prototype, experiment, test case, and trial run. Each of these terms conveys the idea of testing or trying out an idea before fully committing to it, and can be used interchangeably with ballon d'essai depending on the context in which it is being used.
