genuine article

American  

[jen-yoo-in ahr-ti-kuhl, jen-yoo-ahyn] / ˈdʒɛn yu ɪn ˈɑr tɪ kəl, ˈdʒɛn yuˌaɪn /

noun

Slang.

1. the genuine article, a person or thing that is an excellent, authentic, or true example of their type, rather than just an imitation.

   Don’t buy mass-produced T-shirts that weren’t really tie-dyed—we’ve got the genuine article!

   When it comes to real-life heroes, Lieutenant Shapiro is the genuine article.

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Pronunciation

See genuine ( def. ).

Etymology

Origin of genuine article

First recorded in 1790–95

Example Sentences

Right now Bachelor Nation youths love the “Golden” season, as do the Olds, because the network sold Turner as the genuine article.

From Salon • Dec. 2, 2023

And not a sagacious orchestral adaptation of swing — as in Adams’s “City Noir” — but the genuine article.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Thirty-five years later with “Renfield,” Cage is finally playing the genuine article, complete with bloodthirsty fangs and a dapper velvet smoking jacket.

From Washington Times • Apr. 14, 2023

There’s at least one moment in “Blonde,” Andrew Dominik’s dazzling, depressing and fatally incurious movie about Marilyn Monroe, when you might not be sure if you’re watching Ana de Armas or the genuine article.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 26, 2022

They were the genuine article, mostly the products of lumber towns, dairy farms, mining camps, fishing boats, and shipyards.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown