It's a one-off.

[b3y0nd3r]

I am pretty cultural and I watch tv and interact with people quite often So, up until a few months ago. my supervisor, speaking about a certain situation, mentioned it was a one-off. I shook my head like I knew what she meant and walked away baffled.

I never heard the expression "one-off". Where the heck did this expression come from and who popularized it?

I did some research and found out it is an expression from England stemming from 2010ish(?).

So for 7 years I never heard this before? Anyone else think that this is strange? Im kind of thinking Mandela effect.

 

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[WoodnHead]

I've heard it over the years, but I have an art and design background. I always knew it as a design or piece that is only made once. I guess it has spread to mean anything that only occurs once?

Google one off and printing. It has meant a piece that is a singular printing for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's become more popular as digital printing has made it economically feasible for anyone to do a one off printing of most anything - book, T-shirt, poster etc... Then it became a phrase you could attribute to anything that happens once as sort of an anomaly.

 

[1320]

I've heard the term to express a unique situation, specifically, a persons character...being 180 degrees turned from the norm in that particular environment.

 

[Jason in Enid]

I've heard that expression my whole life. Like already meantioned, it refers to something that is unique, an aboration, the only of its kind created.

its kind of like an expression I have heard and used as long as I can remember; as you you or something being "fair to middlin". It means being ok or acceptable. It actually is an old term coming from cotton farmers as a grade of cotton to sell.

 

[against the wind]

One off = one of a kind

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

One-off = custom made and not part of a batch or production run.

 

[ironhorse]

I have been around a while, tnet is the first place I've heard of this "one off"

I'm chalking it up as a misspelling or a mispronunciation
one of a kind ( as atw said) or unique makes perfect sense

one off is an incomplete phrase, you are free to fill in the blank I suppose

one off the shelf, sounds like there's a whole bunch if them!

one off the bucket list ?, getting better

one off being correct?

close but no cigar....

Ive never used the term one off because it seems no one knows what it means and I'm included,
I'll continue to use the term one of a kind literally referring to a unique item or a proto type

 

[sandchip]

In antique bottles, many whimseys made after hours from production molds are considered "one-offs".

 

[Duckshot]

The term "one-off" has been around since at least the 1970's. Charlie P. (NY) has it right. When i first head "one-off" it was used to refer to fiberglass boats. It is the first hull taken off a mould. Then a company came around and named themselves One-Off Marine.


I looked it up. According to Wiktionary "one-off" has been a foundry term for a hundred years.-

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/one-off

 

[GA_Boy]

In a few days my Wife will be my "one off" for the last 56 years.
Marvin