ACID TEST Definition & Meaning

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acid test

noun

a severe and conclusive test to establish quality, genuineness, worth, etc.

acid test

noun

a rigorous and conclusive test to establish worth or value
the play passed the critic's acid test

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of acid test¹

First recorded in 1890–95

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of acid test¹

C19: from the testing of gold with nitric acid

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Idioms and Phrases

A decisive trial to determine worth or quality, as in Exposure to brilliant sunlight is the acid test for showing this fabric won't fade. Alluding to a 19th-century chemical test for distinguishing gold from other metals, this term was used figuratively by the early 1900s.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

One senior source says, “no return to some form of austerity, that is the acid test – we all understand the inheritance, but there are different ways of raising money”.

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But an acid test lies in wait for Celtic against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

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It is this issue of pinch points which will be the acid test of the VAT policy in Edinburgh.

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Lactic acid tests have a number of important applications.

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The machine might even put supersymmetry to the acid test.

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acid soil acid test ratio

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