test of time

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test of time (usually uncountable, plural tests of time)

1. The correlation of longevity with validity of an idea or trend.

   to stand the test of time

   to pass the test of time

   Reason away, but the test of time will prove me right.

   • 2022 November 23, Hadley Freeman, quoting Susan Seidelman, “Like a cinema virgin: how Madonna went stratospheric making Desperately Seeking Susan”, in The Guardian‎:

     It’s thrilling when you make something that passes the test of time. Because I didn’t even think in those terms when I was making it. I just wanted to put my finger on the pulse of the time.

The term is usually found with the definite article the, but other combinations that are possible include “this test of time” and “another test of time”.

• fullness of time
• time-tested
• time will tell
• wait-and-see

• “test of time”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.