slice-of-life

[ slahys-uhv-lahyf ]

adjective

1. of, relating to, or being a naturalistic, unembellished representation of real life:

   a play with slice-of-life dialogue.

Word History and Origins

Origin of slice-of-life¹

1890–95; attributive use of slice of life, translation of French tranche de vie, allegedly coined by dramatist Jean Jullien (1854–1919)

Example Sentences

"That premise felt almost like a slice of life itself."

From BBC

We slowly peel the onion as we go, and one of the things we found that’s very helpful is that what makes the show work, I think, well, is that each episode feels different because we pick a different slice of life, usually moneyed New York, and we dig into that and we build the case with that, the clues come out of the specifics of that world, which always make it a little bit juicier and a little bit more fun.

From Los Angeles Times

It feels like a home movie, or a documentary — a capture of a slice of life in which there’s no plot other than whatever happens on the road ahead.

From New York Times

Chekhov is sometimes mistakenly credited with presenting a slice of life.

From Los Angeles Times

“We looked at each episode being another kind of slice of life, a different chapter of looking at some particular thing in New York,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times