off the rack
Of clothes, mass-produced and ready to wear. Often hyphenated. Primarily heard in US. You can find really stylish clothes off the peg, if you look hard enough. Don't show up to the interview in some off-the-rack suit—you need to spend a bit more money if you want to impress them.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
off the rack
Ready-made, as in
She has all her clothes made; she never buys a dress off the rack. The
rack here is a frame from which clothes are hung. [Mid-1900s] A British synonym is
off the peg, similarly alluding to a knob from which clothes are hung and dating from the late 1800s. Also see
off the shelf.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
off-the-rack
Off-the-rack clothes are made in large numbers and sent to shops, not made specially for a particular person. We want to improve the fit of off-the-rack items. Note: You can say that people buy clothes off the rack. He was wearing a blue two-piece suit that had obviously been bought off the rack when he was several pounds lighter.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
off the rack
Ready-made. Used of clothing.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.