On 6 Aug 2006 08:29:15 -0700, "Mike Lyle"
> wrote:

>
>the Omrud wrote:
>> Brian Wickham > had it:
>[...]
>> > I think "the greatest thing since sliced bread" is actually meant as a
>> > bit of sarcasm. In other words, not so great at that.
>>
>> Not in the UK it isn't. It carries no sarcasm here.
>
>I don't think I can agree with that. Even people who buy the typical
>stodgy wrapped sliced loaf know it's inferior -- and I'm sure that's
>what "sliced bread" usually conjures up, not good bread put through the
>baker's machine as you buy it.

Having seen our local bakery install a slicing machine to slice
their own bread, I have never takn it to mean factory-wrapped
stuff like Wonder Bread (American national brand of substance
best dampened with wter and rolled into little balls for baiting
fish hooks)

>And in any case, for the expression to
>be meant literally, a significant number of people would have to
>believe that there really had been no better recent invention: that
>seems highly unlikely, no?

In America sliced bread became common not long before I was a
tad.

************* DAVE HATUNEN ) *************
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* My typos & mispellings are intentional copyright traps *