stale

"But they've applied her prodigious charms too thinly, and even she – with her preference for all things 'sumptuous' – can't stop the feeling that the show has gone more than a little stale."

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

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

“I thought golf was a fairly stale and boring sport at the time,” Clark says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 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

Meals were meager and repetitive: salt pork, stale biscuits, and whatever fish could be caught by the crew.

From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman

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 warmer the weather, and the staler killed the meat is, the less time it will require to roast it.

From The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual by William Kitchiner

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

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

That old-as-the-Rialto story line is — bear with me — what’s new in this “Shuffle Along,” the part written by Mr. Wolfe, and it’s what feels stalest.

From New York Times ● Apr. 28, 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

The Flatterer will laugh also at your stalest joke, and will stuff his cloak into his mouth as if he could not repress his amusement when you again tell it. 

From Bunyan Characters (2nd Series) by Alexander Whyte

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

This was luxury ineffable to one who had laboured with things that seemed to be kept merely for the sake of a jest that was never of the best and was staling with use.

From Somewhere in Red Gap by Harry Leon Wilson