the greatest thing since sliced bread
1
6.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
lo mejor desde el pan rebanado
- The invention of the internet is often seen as the greatest thing since sliced bread for communication.
- thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread
Oh yeah, you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- Oh yeah, you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- He comes out with eyeliner galore, and now he thinks Trump's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Examples
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We hope that you're our quarterback for the next fifteen years, because we all think that you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Blog text (16) -
Let the sheep purchase this newfangled technology and let them fool themselves into thinking it's the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Blog text (23) -
According to the liberal media, Obama is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
Blog text (25) -
She thinks you're the greatest thing since sliced bread.
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Why do all these guys fawn over her like she's the greatest thing since sliced bread?
Blog text (19) -
Humans think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread, and who is there to contradict them?
Blog text (5) -
Bobette Pfeifer, a participant since 1987, says that POM is "the greatest thing since sliced bread."
Academic text (2001) -
Many people believe that smartphones are the greatest thing since sliced bread due to their convenience.
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When online shopping became popular, it was hailed as the greatest thing since sliced bread by consumers.
Synonyms
310
3.9
Bringing in new ideas or ways of doing things
242
3.9
A sudden important discovery or advance that solves a big problem
A very clever, impressive idea that people admire
Antonyms
How Useful
- Informal
1
6.9
242
3.9
947
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
the + greatest + thing + since + sliced + bread
The expression literally compares something to 'sliced bread', and a learner who knows 'greatest', 'thing' and 'since' can probably infer it is praising something as especially good or useful. However, the conventional cultural meaning — that 'sliced bread' functions as a fixed benchmark for a great invention — is idiomatic and requires prior exposure, so the relation is only partially predictable.
Etymology
The greatest thing since sliced bread may come from when bread already cut into slices was a new, wonderful convenience because a ready loaf made quick sandwiches and saved time. So people began to call any new, very useful invention 'the greatest thing since sliced bread' to show it was a big improvement.