the best thing since sliced bread

What it means

A wonderful new invention, product, or idea that is regarded as a great improvement on what came before. It's often used with light humour or mild exaggeration to praise something.

Examples

• He thinks his new phone is the best thing since sliced bread.
• This little app is honestly the best thing since sliced bread.
• She talks about her air fryer like it's the best thing since sliced bread.
• Everyone says the new policy is the best thing since sliced bread.

Where it comes from

From mid-20th-century America, after commercially pre-sliced bread was introduced in the late 1920s and marketed as a great convenience; the phrase grew out of that advertising.

Related idioms