acid test
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acid test
- /ˌæsɪd ˈtɛst/ US, UK
Rhymes with -ɛst
Where it comes from
From acid + test; sense 1 (“test involving the reaction of an acid with another chemical”) and sense 2 (“rigorous test or appraisal of the quality or worth of something”) refer to the use of nitric acid to test if a metal is gold; true gold is not affected by the acid.
Sense 3 (“party based around the use and advocacy of the psychedelic drug LSD”) is a pun referencing the slang term acid (“LSD”). The original “acid test” parties were thrown by the Merry Pranksters group between 1965 and 1966 and advertised by the slogan “Can you pass the acid test?”
noun acid tests
- A test involving the reaction of an acid with another chemical.
- A rigorous test or appraisal of the quality or worth of something. [H]e reflected that few professional beauties could have stood, as this woman did, the acid test of that mercilessly brilliant morning.
- In the 1960s, a party based around the use and advocacy of the psychedelic drug LSD (known in slang as acid). The Pranksters had just held an Acid Test at the Fillmore Auditorium, a big ballroom in the middle of one of San Francisco's big Negro slums, the Fillmore district. It was a wild night. Hundreds of heads and bohos from all over the Bay area turned out, zonked to the eyeballs.
Translations
Every language
noun 1. test involving the reaction of an acid with another chemical
| Español | prueba/probatura ácida |
|---|
noun 2. rigorous test or appraisal of the quality or worth of something
| Español | probatura/prueba del algodón |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 決定性考驗 /决定性考验 juédìngxìng kǎoyàn, 洗禮 /洗礼 xǐlǐ |
| Français | épreuve du feu, épreuve par le feu |
| Deutsch | Lackmustest |
| Italiano | banco di prova |
| Ελληνικά | λυδία λίθος lydía líthos, βάσανος vásanos |
| Română | probă de foc |
| Русский | серьёзное испыта́ние serʹjóznoje ispytánije |
Talk about this word "acid test." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/acid%20test. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. acid test. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/acid%20test "acid test." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/acid%20test.Cite this
@misc{acid_test_2026,
title = {acid test},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/acid%20test},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
