platinum-iridium
<standard> A standard, against which all others of the same category are
measured. Usage: silly.
The notion is that one of whatever it is has actually been cast in
platinum-iridium alloy and placed in the vault beside the Standard Kilogram at
the International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris, as the bar defining
the standard metre once was.
"This garbage collection algorithm has been tested against the platinum-iridium
cons cell in Paris."
Compare golden.
[Jargon File]
(1997-02-20)
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