Brian Wickham > writes:

> On Fri, 04 Aug 2006 11:23:11 GMT, Wayland >
> wrote:
>
>>So
>>while sliced bread is a nice convenience I don't quite see how it's
>>the "greatest thing since sliced bread."
>>
>>Wayland
>> ...what do you think?
>
> 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 at all. For making sandwiches (say for your kids' lunches),
sliced bread was an amazing time saver and also more economical (since
you couldn't consistently slice it that thin).

The phase first shows up in the _Los Angeles Times_ in 1955:

The question now resolves into one of trying to figure out whether
the Santa Anita Derby fits into Finnegan's plans. If it does,
Blue Ruler is the best thing since slice bread. [2/14/1955]

Three of the first four hits, in 1955 and 1956, are from the same
author, Ned Cronin. The fourth is describing Wash-'n-Dri towlettes:

Alan Chudacoff, the pharmaceutical phenom who operates the famous
Chudacoff Pharmacy in THE FARMERS MARKET at West Third and
Fairfax, has come into possession of another shipment of the
greatest thing since sliced bread. [7/18/1955]

There's a slightly earlier hit in the _New York Times_ that treats it
as an understatement, but with no hint that it's sarcastic:

And it took an American to put the latest form of air travel in
its place when he was asked, on arriveing in a Comet jet liner
from Rome, how he liked the new machine. "Why," he said, "it's
the greatest thing since sliced bread." [12/7/1952]

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