burnt toast theory

== English == === Etymology === Possibly first used in a video posted April 4, 2023 to Instagram by @latenightepiphanies_, who explained: "it's basically the theory that if you burn your toast in the morning (something challenging happens), the time you spend making another toast may have saved you from a car accident. […] everything happens for a reason." The concept was popularized on TikTok around January 2024. === Pronunciation === === Proper noun === burnt toast theory (Internet slang) The mindset that a seemingly negative event in a person's life could have actually prevented something even worse from occurring. === References ===