genuine article

the genuine article (plural genuine articles)

1. (idiomatic) An authentic thing, as opposed to an imitation.

   Synonyms: real thing, real deal, real McCoy, pure quill

   Antonyms: copy, counterfeit; fake, imitation, lookalike, phony

   • 2018 November, Deborah Blum, “When Milk Was Full of Calf Brains”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     “Coffee” might be largely sawdust, or wheat, beans, beets, peas, and dandelion seeds, scorched black and ground to resemble the genuine article.

   • 2023 April 5, Chantal Da Silva, Daniel Arkin, “Cash App founder Bob Lee reportedly killed in San Francisco stabbing, sources say”, in NBC News‎^[2]:

     "Bob was a dynamo, a force of nature. Bob was the genuine article," Joshua Goldbard said.

2. (figurative) The bomb; the shit.

• whole package

• “the genuine article” (US) / “the genuine article” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.

• “genuine article”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.