What term describes something which is ubiquitous and consequently poor in quality, but occasionally exceptional and noteworthy?

That is, something which is especially remarkable in one isolated instance because it rises above being quintessentially mediocre, as is the case in every other example.

Consider the chocolate chip cookie.

Everyone bakes chocolate chip cookies.

They are so commonplace that there are rarely, if ever, any actually delicious chocolate chip cookies. However, in the face of bland ubiquity, some people occasionally -do- bake a truly and breathtakingly excellent chocolate chip cookie. Because it rises above what is otherwise widespread and bromidic, this one excellent chocolate chip cookie outshines the grandest and most ornate desserts specifically designed to be outstanding.

This concept can be applied in many places, and we often take it for granted without being able to reduce and articulate it with a formal term. What word am I looking for?

Solution 1:

I think I understand what you are after. You describe a scenario in which a person bites into THE cookie, not expecting anything other than the usual mediocrity. S/he is pleasantly surprised, however, to discover it is the quintessence of chocolate chip cookieness.

I would call that moment an epiphany, an eye-opening experience. It is an experience that breaks the mold. It serves as a sort of paradigm shift in the way the chocolate cookie is henceforward perceived. That cookie becomes a benchmark for tasting and judging any other cookie, yea, any dessert. It is the lodestar, the zenith, the epitome, a game changer, da bomb.

Is this what you are after?

Solution 2:

In order to capture the juxtaposition of the truly sublime and the mundane it rises above, perhaps an idiomatic (or at least semi-idiomatic) phrase like a diamond among the pebbles or a diamond in rough pebbles, or whichever variation of it seems more idiomatic to you, could work.

Solution 3:

I'd propose "Exceptional" in this scenario.

unusually good; outstanding

I think it works very well to convey the fact of being better than usual... i.e., that the quality is an exception to the usual standard.

The team played well but Jones' performance was exceptional.

This clearly shows one to be a "stand out" from the norm.

You do say "one isolated instance" in your question so you could go with "unprecedented".

Solution 4:

I am surprised, (pleasantly, of course), that I turned up here in response to my Google request to find out a particular naming application using the word "exceptional". I have learnt a few things regarding the finer definitions and subtle variations of the many words that have been suggested so far.

For what it is worth, it has brought to mind an example of something I remember from long ago when I first started working in an AM Broadcast Radio Station as a Sound Engineer, having been a Radio Mechanic Apprentice before that. This was at the time, about the early 1960s, Stereo Broadcasting was being tried in Australia, but in general well before the FM service started. I had complained that the "LARGE" mono control room monitor sounded "ordinary". It just seemed to be nothing special, but did not have any obvious faults either. It did have power, without distortion, though, as could be expected from the 9 cubic foot enclosure, a triangular corner type from Wharfdale, mounted over the main control desk abutting the ceiling, facing down at a 45 degree angle, right above my supervisor. This sand-filled panel housing for a powerful 3-way system, with its 15" bass, was considered "exceptional" at the time, but I had not recognised that fact, only its no-nonsense ability to do the job required, without adding any qualities of its own to the sound it was reproducing.

I realised later that that exceptional sound was not screaming out "listen to me", but just doing its job well. It did not have screeching high frequencies that made violins sound "steely", or the "thump, thump, thump" of the bass doubling and over resonating. It was effortlessly reproducing the signal fed to it and it was effortless to listen to. It was exceptional sound, at least at the time.

Now, I listen to sound that is better, and reproduced by speakers that are much smaller, cost less in real terms, though one can go overboard here and pay thousands more for questionable improvements, it is a perceived art and that means, what appeals to one may not appeal to another.

I have not been able to add another word to the list, but I hope I have added a real concept awareness to reality as I experienced it. To me, the closest word is "epiphany", as that was the feeling when I realised what had happened. It was actually an "eye-opener", or should that be "ear-opener"?

Solution 5:

There are several words to describe something which is far above average, or normal, quality.

• Superior
• Excellent
• Outstanding
• Best
• Premium
• First-class

In my opinion these words get overused, and so their meaning is sometimes diluted by silly advertising. If you want a word that expresses that the cookie exemplifies the best possible, you might use:

• Superlative (though it might sound a bit funny)
• Supreme
• Divine
• Peerless
• Unparalleled

"This cookie is outstanding! I worry I will never taste one so delicious again."

"This is the best cookie I've ever tasted."

"This cookie is divine."