off-the-pegadv.adj.
/ˌɒfðəˈpɛɡ/, U.S. /ˈɔfðəˈpɛɡ/, /ˈɑfðəˈpɛɡ/ Originally and chiefly British.
A. adv.
From the stock available for immediate purchase in a shop, etc. Used esp. with reference to clothing, frequently (esp. in early use) with implication of cheapness or shoddiness. Also figurative and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adverb]
of one's wearingc1400
justa1486
without welt or guard1592
succinctly1743
off-the-pega1916
off-the-rack1920
1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. Bought off the pegs, said contemptuously of second-hand or ‘slop-made’ clothing.
a1916 R. Asquith in J. A. Spender & C. Asquith Life H. H. Asquith (1932) II. xlviii. 234 Love ready-made or glamour off the peg.
1922 19th Cent. June 1026 Before the war the average undergraduate was..garbed in a ‘sports’ coat obviously ‘off the peg’.
1947 N. Collins Dulcimer Street 597 Unless he had gone to the length of showing people the tailor's label..there was no way of proving that he wasn't still going about in something cheap and nasty off the peg.
1957 Economist 28 Dec. 1120/2 There simply is no such thing as suitable spectacles ‘off the peg’.
1971 Daily Tel. 8 Nov. 12/3 Her clothes are mostly bought ‘off the peg’ in Zurich boutiques.
1999 S. Rushdie Ground beneath her Feet (2000) iv. 95 The rest of us get our personae off the peg, our religion, language, prejudices, demeanour.
B. adj.
Of clothes: ready-made rather than made to order; (of tailoring) producing ready-made garments. Also figurative and in extended use: instant, mass-produced.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > made in specific way > ready to wear
ready-made1631
reach-me-down1861
ready-to-wear1890
prêt-à-porter1957
off-the-peg1959
off-the-rack1964
1959 J. Yates-Benyow Weak & Wicked x. 151 Other unfamiliar-sounding occupations necessary for the output of up-to-date off-the-peg clothing—..bar-tacking.
1959 Daily Tel. 4 May 13 (heading) Off-the-Peg thrills of the Law.
1974 Country Life 28 Mar. 732/1 Georgian sash windows..have been replaced by off-the-peg glass rectangles.
1975 Times 11 Mar. (Italian Industry Suppl.) p. vii/4 It was the equivalent of the passage from bespoke to off-the-peg tailoring.
1988 L. Ellman Sweet Desserts 76 In an off-the-peg dress..she did not look her best.
1996 Q Jan. 81/1 Where better to find such off-the-peg sensations than within the glittering passages of pop?
2000 M. Barrowcliffe Girlfriend 44 x. 263 A young bloke in off-the-peg instant clubber gear at the next table leaned across.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.1879