The Daily Feather — Just a Sliver

According to Guinness World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most popular song in the English language. As the sung portion of a birthday tribute transitions to applause, many find their mouths begin to water for a piece of cake. Those watching their waistlines validate the stereotype, chiming in with the: “Oh, only a sliver for me, I’m watching what I eat.” (In that the song has been translated into 18 languages, we find ourselves wondering whether imploring for ‘just a sliver’ has as well.) As for the Queen’s English, Merriam-Webster defines sliver as “a long slender piece cut or torn off, a small and narrow portion, a particle, or a scrap.” The first known use of the word dates to the 14th century. The etymological root of sliver is the obsolete verb sliven or from the Old English toslifan which meant “to split or cleave.”

Economically speaking, slivers are roundly ignored in favor of heftier weights. An easy example is the chunkiness of rents, the biggest U.S. consumer price index input.