Definition of the word sliced bread

The phrase "sliced bread" is often used as an example of a hyperbole, meaning something that is so commonly available or convenient that it seems like a basic necessity. However, the actual origin of the phrase is rooted in marketing and packaging innovations of the early 20th century. In the 1920s, the Chillicothe Baking Company of Missouri introduced a new product: sliced sandwich bread. Prior to this, bread had to be manually sliced, a time-consuming and sometimes messy process. The innovative packaging and marketing strategies of the Chillicothe Baking Company helped make sliced bread a game-changer in the baking industry. The company's advertising slogan, "The Hostess Speaks! Sliced Bread - Pressed Sweetly, Wrapped Nice-ly," helped popularize the product and prompted it to become widely available by the end of the 1920s. As a result, the public began using the phrase "sliced bread" as a figure of speech to describe anything considered an impressive innovation or convenience in its time. This is evidenced in a 1928 cartoon by King Features Syndicate, where a character says, "Women's suffrage is a bore... Aw, come on, Encida, it's nothing compared to the day I saw sliced bread!" The cultural significance of sliced bread, however, isn't just historical: the phrase has played a role in popular culture for decades, from catchy pop songs to contemporary expressions used to describe everyday innovations. In short, "sliced bread" is a testament to how a simple product innovation can have far-reaching ripple effects in culture and language.