thneed

plural thneeds

1. A useless product which is advertised as being needed by everybody, but which in fact no one needs.

   Do You Really, I Mean REALLY, Need a Thneed?

   2000, David Kumar, Daryl Chubin, Science, Technology, and Society: A Sourcebook on Research and Practice, page 221

   3 more examples

   I needed orange juice, a toothbrush, a blood transfusion, a Bloody Mary, Abigale Ponders, Leslie Cunningham, a Thneed, someone to watch over me, a miracle every day—anything but a moment of truth between myself and Zelmo Swift.

   2004, Jonathan Lethem, The Fortress of Solitude, page 361

   Call now—the remarkable 'thneed' is available only while supplies last...”

   2012, Shauna Springer, Marriage, for Equals: The Successful Joint (Ad)Ventures of Well-Educated Couples, page 12

   I saw someone call AI a Thneed and I can't stop thinking about it. It's a PERFECT analogy. The Thneed was an all-purpose tool that didn't do anything really useful. It was a fad that did major damage to the environment to make the Onceler a billionare. It left no real lasting impact, only damage.

   2025 October 28, Kasey Gifford (@kaseygifford.bsky.social), Bluesky