take-it-or-leave-itadj.n.
/ˌteɪkɪtɔːˈliːvɪt/, U.S. /ˌteɪkᵻdərˈlivᵻt/ A. adj.
Characterized by an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’; expressing indifference as to whether something is accepted or rejected.
ΚΠ
1840 C. G. Jenkins Miss Aylmer I. xi. 170 And then the way they press you to eat! None of the coldness of your take-it-or-leave-it London ladies.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 251 I affected an easy take-it-or-leave-it-manner, and looked on.
1902 Monthly Rev. Aug. 155 England..sets out her exhibits with a ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ air, with a disregard of their possibilities which seems almost wilful.
1957 Virginia Law Rev. 43 847 A government contract is a contract of adhesion, that is to say, a contract with standard terms and conditions, prepared by one party and offered to another on a take-it-or-leave-it basis.
2007 Art in Amer. May 65/2 Medici sent 20 Attic red figure plates to America for sale at a take-it-or-leave-it high price for the whole group.
B. n.
An utterance or implication of ‘take it or leave it’; an attitude characterized by this.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > indifference > [noun] > spirit or attitude of indifference
nil admirari1654
indifferentism1834
take-it-or-leave-it1885
je-m'en-fichism1902
je-m'en-foutism1954
1885 A. Griffiths Fast & Loose III. ii. 22 This was said with an air of ‘take-it-or-leave-it’.
1933 P. G. Wodehouse Heavy Weather xvi. 280 The gallant nonchalance of that take-it-or-leave-it of his..had sent Lord Tilbury scrambling for his cheque-book.
1940 C. L. Morgan Voy. iii. v. 267 [He] was a little distinguished among Thérèse's..adorers..by..his attitude of take-it-or-leave-it even towards Thérèse herself.
2001 U.S. News & World Rep. 17 Dec. 30/2 Before the war, coalition building (not to mention nation building) was out; take-it-or-leave-it was in.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.1840