off the peg

Meanings

1. 1phrasefixed phraseBritish

   Clothes bought in a standard size from a shop, not made specially for you.

   Grammar: Use it after a verb (bought it off the peg) or, with hyphens, before a noun (an off-the-peg dress).

   Patterns

   • buy something off the peg
   • off-the-peg clothes
   • an off-the-peg suit

   He didn't have time for fittings, so he bought his wedding suit off the peg.

   Off-the-peg curtains are much cheaper than ones made to measure.

   Most of her wardrobe is off the peg, but she had the coat altered.

2. 2phrasefixed phrasefigurative

   Used about ideas or plans that are standard and ready-made rather than designed for a particular situation.

   Grammar: Often slightly critical; before a noun it takes hyphens.

   Patterns

   • an off-the-peg solution
   • off-the-peg policies

   The mayor offered an off-the-peg solution that ignored local problems.

   Their training program is off the peg, so it doesn't fit every team.

Common combinations

buy something off the peg

I bought the jacket off the peg and had the sleeves shortened.

off-the-peg suit

An off-the-peg suit can still look sharp if it fits well.

off-the-peg clothes

Off-the-peg clothes come in standard sizes only.

made to measure

Made-to-measure shirts cost far more than off-the-peg ones.

Synonyms and how they differ

ready-made

Use ready-made for anything produced in standard form, not only clothes.

off the rack

The usual American phrase; British speakers say off the peg.

standard

Standard means normal or usual, so it is wider and less specific than off the peg.

Opposites

Commonly confused: off the peg or off-the-shelf?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “off the peg”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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