State-of-the-art
Posted by ESC on June 07, 2000
In Reply to: State of the art posted by Chad on June 07, 2000
: Does anyone know the origin of the phrase "state of the art?" Please let me know!
I can't find an origin in any of my reference books. It sounds like an advertising phrase to me. All I found was an entry under the chapter on Bureaucratese: the Talk of the White-Collar Baliwick in "Slang: the Authoritative Topic-by-topic Dictionary of American Lingos from All Walks of Life" by Paul Dickson (Pocket Books, New York, 1990, 1998). "state-of-the-art. Not out-of-date; current."