"Acid test" is easy to understand and gives your comment a weighty academic tone.

But not everyone likes it; Patricia T. O'Conner calls it a cliché. "Overuse and you flunk," she says. I take her point, though, and recommend saving "acid test" for when you really are talking about a test that reveals whether or not something is real gold, metaphorically speaking. 

Typically we talk about one thing (some particular feature, indicator, accomplishment, ability, or performance) being the acid test for another thing (some particular level of talent or excellence). 

For example, maybe you think that if someone is a truly accomplished pianist, then they can play Chopin's music, and if they can't, then they're not. In that case, you'd say that Chopin's music is the acid test for pianism. I swiped that example from the musician David Mermelstein: "Chopin's music represents the true acid test, the standard by which pianism is judged."

You might also say that something takes, passes, or fails its acid test.

"[Peter Booth's Gallery Cafe] passes the acid test, in that it is much-loved by people who work locally, not just museum visitors."
   — Tony Naylor, The Guardian, 14 May 2010

"For me, one acid test of any [performance of] 'Into the Woods' is 'Agony,' which isn't as funny if the princes nail the lyrics but can't much sing the mock heroic tune. At the screening I saw, the audience laughed delightedly and burst into applause at the end."
  — Nelson Pressley, Washington Post, 19 December 2014

has this page helped you understand "acid test"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "acid test" without saying "deciding factor" or "touchstone."

try it out:

In a review, Xan Brooks shared how impressed he was with the movie Inception:

"Possibly Nolan's film is finally too slick and quick for its own good. Perhaps it is fated to lose a little impact and logic when scrutinised later, in the cold light of day. But let's not quibble. The acid test is whether it works in the moment, in the dark, in the shared dream at the local multiplex."

See if you can explain what he means: in Brooks's opinion, what is the acid test for an excellent movie? Could you give an example of a movie that, for you, passed or failed this acid test?

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game this month is "CLICKBAIT THIS!"

Summon your creativity and dismiss your sense of decency as you invent a clickbaity description: one that's urgent, exaggerated, ungrammatical, conspiratorial, utterly false, emotionally abrasive, vaguely revelatory, full of feigned shock, and/or bloated with capital letters, question marks, exclamation points, and/or emojis. Get in there and be shameless.

If you're sufficiently disgusted with your clickbait, share it with a friend and see if they can guess its subject. I'll also share mine with you to see if you can guess it.

Clickbait this today: A game or sport of your choice.

Try guessing my game or sport: SHE KEEPS 🔤🔤STAKCING the letter tiles on TOP!?!? THE REASON WILL SHOCK YOU

Scroll all the way down for the answer to mine.

review this term:

1. Something that fails an ACID TEST is, in a figurative sense,

A. PINCHBECK (fake gold: something that seems excellent but, on closer inspection, isn't).
B. SOPHISTRY (fake scholarship: something that seems persuasive but, on closer inspection, isn't).
C. SANCTIMONY (fake holiness: something that seems virtuous but, on closer inspection, isn't).

2. A writer for the New York Times shared that, for them personally, "the acid test... with theater — and musicals in particular — is _____."

A. holding the playbook
B. how much it makes you feel
C. the steady increase in ticket prices

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. B From the game: Upwords.

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.