a severe or conclusive test. The
phrase comes from the practice of applying
acid to a metal to test whether it is
gold or not.
severe or conclusive test. The
term comes from the practice of applying
acid to a metal to test whether it is
gold or not.
n. a severe or decisive test, as for
value,
effectiveness, authenticity,
truth, etc. The
term dates back to the 1800s when peddlers used
acid to distinguish
gold from
cheap metal that someone might be trying to
pass off on them. The
acid would corrode such metals as
iron or
copper, but would do nothing to real
gold. The
term acid test soon came to be commonly used to mean a
stern test of reliability.