stale

Much like bread pudding — another of my favorite loaf-based forms — almost anything works here, especially if it’s stale enough, or toasted enough, to give you some real texture.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Switch off your out of office when you return: A stale OOO can look disorganised.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Like skinny jeans, they eventually became unavoidable — and thus a bit stale, giving way to looser fits and bulkier “dad” sneakers.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026

While filmed performances are usually stale, the movie has long struck me, as a professional ballet dancer who discovered “Invitation” in college, as an example of how cinema and dance can be memorably combined.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

The tune hung empty over my ears; the words tasted stale in my mouth.

From "The Rock and the River" by Kekla Magoon

The debate over whether pineapple belongs on pizza is staler than a three-day-old Domino’s slice.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 31, 2022

“Under the Silver Lake” is rarely uninteresting, but it smells a little staler than it should.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2019

Don’t be fooled by the fancy packaging, though: Rarely in the history of Broadway has a bigger, staler nothingburger been served up than “Pretty Woman.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2018

Some schools use the staler options as a supplement to traditional teaching, while others rely on them to entirely supplant in-person instruction.

From Slate ● May 24, 2017

The juice from one lemon at a time should be put into the milk, as the staler the milk the less juice will be needed.

From The Healthy Life Cook Book, 2d ed. by Florence Daniel

The stalest reality show becomes, in her telling, a Talmudic feat: “There is a tribunal of scholars who teaches them how to sing!” she tells Shulem breathlessly.

From The New Yorker ● Apr. 14, 2019

It opens with a fresh angle on one of the stalest scenes in music history, when Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2018

Luckily, so expert is Firth’s timing—like that of Emma Thompson, as Bridget’s obstetrician—that laughs, often of the rueful variety, can be conjured in the stalest scenes.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 16, 2016

When you compete in a multiplayer shooter and you are at a disadvantage until you unlock better weapons; that's the stalest of crust.

From The Verge ● Oct. 28, 2015

Tony was a master of external knowledge and sought for something fresh; the other, a babe, welcomed the stalest facts as discoveries from a new world.

From The Gay Adventure A Romance by Richard Bird

Traditionally, sourdough or challah that has staled a bit is used for French toast.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2022

As it staled, I toasted pieces under the broiler and dipped these into runny egg yolks.

From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2022

Hers features an any-nut frangipane you can slather onto staled panettone, croissants, brioche or even white bread and top with your choice of nuts and fruit.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 20, 2021

The clerk’s disinterest practically staled the air, their voice over the speaker the droning whine of a giant, bored nose.

From Slate ● May 29, 2018

If the Preacher really had staled Mr. Leroy’s money, seemed to me like he’d try to make hisself real hard.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis

"The inclusion of legume flours slows staling associated with gluten-free breads due to the resistant starch content of legumes," said Lowe.

From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2022

And from a wise Italian nonna, Antonietta Fazone, I learned that toasting bread, versus staling it on the counter overnight, it is preferable for preserving its flavor.

From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2021

Toasting had preserved the flavor, while staling had not.

From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2021

The retrogradation of wheat starch in bread is responsible for staling.

From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2016

"Och Murther," cried Mistress Pettit, "that a dacent woman like I should be charged with staling along with such a spalpeen as Tim Martin, your honor."

From Ups and Downs in the Life of a Distressed Gentleman by William L. (William Leete) Stone