worse offadv.adj.n.

Brit.

/ˌwəːs ˈɒf/, U.S.

/ˌwərs ˈɔf/,

/ˌwərs ˈɑf/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: worse adv., off adv.

Etymology: < worse adv. + off adv. Compare earlier better off adv. Compare also slightly later badly off at badly adv. 2c, later worst off adv., and also worse and worse off at worse adv. Phrases 2b.

A. adv.

Used predicatively: in a less favourable or advantageous situation; esp. less well provided with money or other resources.

1729 T. Odell Smugglers i. 2 I'm worse off yet, but we must worry 'em,..for they ne'er think o' paying Folks.

1792 J. W. Newman Lounger’s Common-place Bk. 41 If it is my fate to be cornuted..I am surely no worse off to have it regularly and preconcertedly performed by a well bred man of the town.

1832 G. C. Lewis Let. 7 Nov. (1870) 20 On the whole they are rather worse off than the convicts in the hulks.

1919 W. De Morgan Old Madhouse i. 3 Are we the better or the worse off by the change?

1972 Daily Tel. 21 Nov. 1/8 The idea was to prevent families falling into the ‘poverty trap’—the situation in which a pay rise can mean the poor are worse off because they lose a disproportionate number of State benefits.

2010 Church Times 12 Nov. 14/2 This is the ‘paradox of choice’: the more options people have, the worse off they are.

B. adj.

In attributive use: less wealthy, poorer. Usually with hyphen.

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > in less fortunate circumstances

worseOE

worse off1872

1872 Family Treasury 191/1 It appeals to the better-off class of children in favour of the worse-off class.

1886 Victoria (Austral.) Parl. Deb. 51 293/1 Will any one tell the worse-off classes of the country that when they buy blankets they must buy an article composed of nothing but wool?

1906 H. Wrixon Pattern Nation 4 When the worse-off people..do come to govern, they will no longer tolerate a state of things under which they remain poor, while a few are able to get upon their shoulders and become rich.

2000 Econ. & Philos. 16 7 Like leximin, Absolute Priority gives absolute priority to a specified group of worse-off people.

C. n.

With the and plural agreement. People who are worse off financially, considered as a class.

1890 W. W. Hunter et al. State Educ. for People iii. 49 The generosity of the better-off to the worse-off.

1915 Railroad Trainman Mar. 283/2 The better off are never ready for a change of systems until they have failed under the ones they have and join the worse off.

1976 Hansard Commons 9 June 1597 The [licence] fee is a poll tax and it is regressive. It bears very hard on the worse-off.

1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) viii. 199 A scheme which imposes a measure of redistribution from the better-off in work to the worse-off in retirement.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	worse off
释义	worse offadv.adj.n. Brit. /ˌwəːs ˈɒf/, U.S. /ˌwərs ˈɔf/, /ˌwərs ˈɑf/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: worse adv., off adv. Etymology: < worse adv. + off adv. Compare earlier better off adv. Compare also slightly later badly off at badly adv. 2c, later worst off adv., and also worse and worse off at worse adv. Phrases 2b. A. adv. Used predicatively: in a less favourable or advantageous situation; esp. less well provided with money or other resources. Π 1729 T. Odell Smugglers i. 2 I'm worse off yet, but we must worry 'em,..for they ne'er think o' paying Folks. 1792 J. W. Newman Lounger’s Common-place Bk. 41 If it is my fate to be cornuted..I am surely no worse off to have it regularly and preconcertedly performed by a well bred man of the town. 1832 G. C. Lewis Let. 7 Nov. (1870) 20 On the whole they are rather worse off than the convicts in the hulks. 1919 W. De Morgan Old Madhouse i. 3 Are we the better or the worse off by the change? 1972 Daily Tel. 21 Nov. 1/8 The idea was to prevent families falling into the ‘poverty trap’—the situation in which a pay rise can mean the poor are worse off because they lose a disproportionate number of State benefits. 2010 Church Times 12 Nov. 14/2 This is the ‘paradox of choice’: the more options people have, the worse off they are. B. adj. In attributive use: less wealthy, poorer. Usually with hyphen. ΘΠ the world > action or operation > adversity > [adjective] > in less fortunate circumstances worseOE worse off1872 1872 Family Treasury 191/1 It appeals to the better-off class of children in favour of the worse-off class. 1886 Victoria (Austral.) Parl. Deb. 51 293/1 Will any one tell the worse-off classes of the country that when they buy blankets they must buy an article composed of nothing but wool? 1906 H. Wrixon Pattern Nation 4 When the worse-off people..do come to govern, they will no longer tolerate a state of things under which they remain poor, while a few are able to get upon their shoulders and become rich. 2000 Econ. & Philos. 16 7 Like leximin, Absolute Priority gives absolute priority to a specified group of worse-off people. C. n. With the and plural agreement. People who are worse off financially, considered as a class. Π 1890 W. W. Hunter et al. State Educ. for People iii. 49 The generosity of the better-off to the worse-off. 1915 Railroad Trainman Mar. 283/2 The better off are never ready for a change of systems until they have failed under the ones they have and join the worse off. 1976 Hansard Commons 9 June 1597 The [licence] fee is a poll tax and it is regressive. It bears very hard on the worse-off. 1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) viii. 199 A scheme which imposes a measure of redistribution from the better-off in work to the worse-off in retirement. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2017; most recently modified version published online December 2021). < adv.adj.n.1729
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