Greatest thing since sliced bread: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:57, 2 May 2005

Revision as of 17:05, 2 May 2005

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The phrase "'''''the greatest thing since sliced bread'''''" ("'''''best'''''" may be substituted for "'''''greatest'''''", and "'''''invention'''''" may be substituted for "'''''thing'''''") is a commonly used [[hyperbolic]] (and sometimes [[sarcastic]]) means of praising an [[invention]] or other society-advancing development. [[Sliced bread]] - meaning pre-sliced, packaged bread - has existed only since [[1928]], but it nevertheless appears to be something of an arbitrary selection as the benchmark against which later inventions should be judged. It has been said that "the phrase is the ultimate depiction of innovative achievement and American know-how" [http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/6405440.htm] - although it is commonly used in the [[United Kingdom]] as well.

The popular use of the phrase appears to derive from the fact that [[Wonder Bread]] - the first mass-marketer of sliced bread as a product - launched a [[1930s]] ad campaign touting the innovation. As one source reports, "Soon[s]oon every new innovation of convenience was being touted as the 'greatest thing since sliced bread.'"[http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/business/6405440.htm]