off the peg

off the peg

Of clothes, mass-produced and ready to wear. (Hyphenated if used as an adjective before a noun.) Primarily heard in UK. 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-peg suit—you need to spend a bit more money if you want to impress them.
See also: off, peg

off-the-peg

BRITISH
Off-the-peg clothes are made in large numbers and sent to shops, not made specially for a particular person. He was wearing an off-the-peg suit. Note: You can say that people buy clothes off the peg. Instead of dining in top restaurants and wearing expensive suits, he likes to eat hamburgers and buys clothes off the peg. Note: The usual American expression is off-the-rack

off the peg

(of clothes) ready-made as opposed to specially made for a particular person. chiefly British
A North American variant of this phrase is off the rack .
See also: off, peg

ˌoff the ˈpeg

(British English) (American English ˌoff the ˈrack) (of a suit, etc.) ready to wear; not made specially to fit one person: He couldn’t afford a made-to-measure suit, so he bought one off the peg.
See also: off, peg
References in periodicals archive ?
Trade agreements between the EU and 52 other countries, which currently cover the UK, could not just be lifted off the peg.
Pakistan should coordinate with UK officials to continue trade: FPCCI
Off the peg has come a long way and no longer means a tired-looking design from a dusty corner of a department store.
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It should be off the peg and moving smoothly within 5 to 10 seconds of adding full power.
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Put your hook through the last peg on the left-hand side, and slide the bands off the peg and on to the wide part of your hook.
HOT DRINKS HOLDER
As well as off the peg items, there is also a style-lab service, including custom fittings on some ranges.
A splash of style in the heart of the city
There is a feeling we have rushed to re-embrace nuclear power and are now being bounced into buying something off the peg.
DAILY POST YOUR VOICE IN WALES: New nuclear power station for you, guv?
The first thing I noticed was the airspeed indicator didn't come off the peg at the normal spot during the takeoff roll.
Running out of runway
The final coup is its technical detailing, which transforms what could have so easily been an ordinary off the peg metal facade into constructional haute couture.
Steely determination: with a seamless skin of steel, this training centre is a subtly subversive urban presence
With 50,000 characters ready off the peg, and millions more in the imaginations of the staff, the choice is almost endless.
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When she failed to rouse her mum she got dressed but could not reach her coat off the peg in the hall.
MUM IN COMA IS SAVED BY KERRY, 6; Docs praise little girl
On offer is own label from any grape variety and any region, and off the peg solutions with custom designed packaging.
New World players sign
Fitch acknowledges that Hong Kong might obtain some benefits from coming off the peg.
Hong Kong: Currency Board & Creditworthiness Steadfast in Adversity
When Boro fans first visited Derby's new ground it was easy to dismiss it as an off the peg replica Riverside with a few added bells and whistles.
VIC'S VIEW
I found off the peg clothes for curvy women really disappointing," says Beth, 34, from Tranmere.
My homemade dress made me feel so glamorous
There the clothes are and you just take them off the peg.
THEY SAID WHAT?
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