Idiom
Best thing since sliced bread
If something is the best thing since sliced bread, it is an excellent new idea, invention or person that people are very excited about.
How people use it
People use it to praise something new and useful: "This app is the best thing since sliced bread." It is usually exaggerated, and it is often sarcastic about someone who thinks too highly of themselves: "He thinks he's the best thing since sliced bread." You may also hear "the greatest thing since sliced bread." It nearly always comes with the: the best thing since sliced bread. The tone is informal and playful.
Also said: greatest thing since sliced bread.
Examples
- My uncle thinks his new robot vacuum is the best thing since sliced bread.
- When the school added a salad bar, the students acted like it was the best thing since sliced bread.
- Ever since he won the spelling bee, Leo thinks he's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Where it comes from
Machine-sliced bread first went on sale in the US in 1928 and quickly caught on, with bakeries advertising it as a big step forward. Within a few decades, people joked that a new product was the best or greatest thing since sliced bread. The first use is not known, but the phrase was common by the middle of the 1900s.
Check yourself
1. If someone calls a gadget the best thing since sliced bread, what do they think?
Answer: It is wonderful and useful. The phrase is high praise for something new and exciting.
2. How can the phrase be used sarcastically?
Answer: To mock someone who thinks too highly of themselves. Saying someone thinks they're the best thing since sliced bread criticizes their big ego.
Similar idioms
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