acid test

n.
A decisive or critical test, as of worth or quality.

[From the testing of gold in nitric acid.]

(AS-id test)

noun
A crucial test to establish the worth or genuineness of something.

Etymology
From the use of nitric acid for testing gold.

Usage
"The acid test of all performances, in the end, is the audience's attentiveness. For the duration of the two hour-long operas, not one chocolate paper rustled. The only disrupting noise was someone sneezing. Once." — Suzanne Joubert, Production Passes Silence Acid Test, Business Day (Johannesburg, South Africa), Nov 8, 2002.

"Chavez, a former paratrooper who led a failed coup himself in 1992, has spent his time since the April coup placing supporters in key positions in the armed forces, using officers' behavior during the overthrow as an acid test of loyalty to decide whom to expel and whom to promote." — T. Christian Miller, Military Remains on Sidelines, The Seattle Times, Dec 22, 2002.

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The most severe test of reliability. Since gold resists acids that corrode other metals, the acid test was used for metals purporting to be gold. See Quick Ratio.

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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• Genres: Electronica

Biography

Blending rock, funk, and techno, Acid Test were signed by Sire in 1993 for their debut album, Drop. Lucy Di Santo is the vocalist and bassist; Steve Fall plays guitar. Keyboardist Atom Percy, drummer Jim Alty, and DJ Mike Harland round out the Canadian band. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide

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