Meanings
plural salami techniques
- The reaching of a goal by using small, consistent steps.
The government used something called the salami technique—discrimination enacted one thin slice at a time.
2008, James R. Norton, The Holocaust: Jews, Germany, and the National Socialistshttps://books.google.com/books?id=nXgTEnJMYNoC&pg=PA23&dq=%22salami+technique%224 more examples
The salami technique was developed by the Communists in response to the need for fooling the majority of the people in any given country during the critical period of the Red takeover.
1955, Marguerite Higgins, News is a Singular ThingBliss recommends using a salami technique to overcome procrastination. Whether dealing with salami or a task, cut the subject into as many small manageable slices as possible and both become more appetizing.
1986, Ann Smith Rice, Suzanne M. Tucker, Family Life ManagementThe salami technique is a special case of the Trojan Horse. The idea here is to use program to remove many small quantities, each quantity being so small in itself that no one notices what is happening.
1992, Lars Frank, EDP-securityDivide the large, difficult job into small, manageable, bite-sized pieces. Then assign a deadline to each step. Were it not for the salami technique, you would not be reading these words because I would never have written them. I despised writing for the first 33 years of my life.
1998, Rick Howard, Jamie Lash, This Was Your Life!
Origin
From the idea of cutting a salami one small slice at a time.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French politique du saucissonnage
- politique du saucissonnagereaching of a goal using small, consistent steps
German Salamitaktik
- Salamitaktikreaching of a goal using small, consistent steps
Cite this entry
salami technique. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salami%20technique
“salami technique.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salami%20technique. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “salami technique,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/salami%20technique.
Source: salami technique on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.