Legal Writing

?One-Off? is not a New Expression

By Maeve Maddox

Barbara McNichol forwarded me a question about the expression one-off as used to mean ?one of a kind.?

I really thought the correct slang was ‘one OF’, not OFF, as in short for ‘one of a kind’. So if that’s true, how did ‘one of’ morph into ‘one off’? Or is it simply that people are spelling it incorrectly?

Although the definition of one-off contains the word of, the expression has always been one-off.

The expression is fairly new in American usage. It began as a British expression and derives from manufacturing jargon. Its first recorded date of use is 1934.

As a noun, one-off is defined in the OED as

A manufactured product made as the only one of its kind; a prototype; (more generally) something not repeated.

One-off can also be used as an adjective:

Made or done as the only one of its kind; unique, not repeated.

The popularity of the expression in headlines on the web will ensure that its use will no longer be confined to speakers of British English:

Vespa builds a one-off, four seater ?Stretch Scooter?

Exclusive one-off London Bestival Party for 2010

Was Nigerian bomber a one-off?

Darling announces one-off shock tax to ‘break bonus culture’

The Top 10 Weirdest One-off Characters On Lost

Full post as published by Daily Writing Tips on March 09, 2010 (boomark / email).