do you use the phrase "one-off"?

Gary

A few minutes ago I was talking to the boss about a business trip I made to Orange County last year around this time and described it as being a "one-off" thing, not related to any project.Apparently Janet Napoletono used the word this morning talking about the oil spill and people in the news were talking about it, because they didn't know what it meant. My boss too, had never heard the term until this morning and was surprised to hear me use it too.He said people were saying that maybe it was a texas thing. I told him I had only lived in Texas 3 years and I don't think I picked it up there, but now that I think about it, I have no idea where I picked it up.Did I pick it up from soulstrut? Is there something record-related that people would use the word "one-off" for? Is it a common thing for people here to say?After googling it I found that people started using it in the '30s, mostly in Brittain, and it's more common there than in the US.Any thoughts?

Horseleech

I'm from the Northeast and I've heard it used many, many times in a variety of contexts.

deathvalley90210

i'm a texas user of the phrase.

DB_Cooper

I'm from the Northeast and I've heard it used many, many times in a variety of contexts.

Electrode

Yeah. I normally use the adjective phrase in a movie or music related context: "Spike Lee's one-off, sci-fi comedy movie", "Claude Monet's one-off, non-impressionist painting" or "Lionel Hampton's one-off, small-label funk album" to name some potential examples. Hyphens are necessary.

DustedDon

boss says it constantly

jaysus

Isn't it a dub plate?

cove

I've used it in terms of a one-time dj gig, as opposed to a regular/weekly thing

street_muzik

I've used it in terms of a one-time dj gig, as opposed to a regular/weekly thing

jlee

boss says it constantly

basically. used in business as a way to cover you ass/hide your mistake when you have a variance going the wrong direction. i am plenty familiar with it (but i did live in TX for 8 yrs too).

Gary

I wonder if I picked it up here then. I wonder if it is a common thing to say in SoCal. It doesn't seem like it, since asking around the office most people had no idea what it meant.

Interesting.

the_dL

its a very widely used saying where i am from (australia)

chrisflyer

I'm from the Northeast and I've heard it used many, many times in a variety of contexts.

kitchenknight

I'm in the Northeast and heard it used countless times in a meeting today.

Lucious_Fox

NEVER

djJazzOne

That is odd. I never thought "one-off" was a regional thing. I can't think of a better word for what it means. What would you guys use instead?

My college roommate from Chicago had no idea what "do what?" meant. It would the devolve into a Abbott and Costello routine.

Horseleech

NEVER

Not even just once?

SIRUS

never used it. (but i've heard it used. texas.)

4YearGraduate

so is this thread a one off?

I use it to describe my beloved collection of acetates and test pressings

also, one time on tour we came up with the slang "zeus-one-off" after i misheard someone blabbering in the tour van at four in the morning. I still use that one, usually to describe someone who is teetering on the verge of bliss:

"the teabagger looked like he was gonna zeus-one-off as he watched Glenn Beck break down how obama hired environmentalists to cause the oil spill"

Kinetic

My wife makes numerous "one off" designer garments and uses this fact as a selling point.

deathvalley90210

rob walker uses it in the first sentence of his most recent post.

street_muzik

My wife makes numerous "one off" designer garments and uses this fact as a selling point.

Oh yeah, I hear that a lot as well. One off samples and shit.

CBear

I've only ever heard it in context of a one-of-a-kind product. Like, "You'll never find another one of those, it was a one-off made by a company in the UK."

Reynaldo

Robert Downey Jr says it near the end of Iron Man 2. I just watched the Russian bootleg.

Okem

According to the internet it's a British term. It is very commonly used over here.

It originates as a term used in manufacturing, but it's used to describe anything that is; done, occurring, or made only once.

"I hope this trip to the hospital is a one off."

"The time we had sex was a one off. I was lonely and very drunk. It's NEVER going to happen again!"

"This hat is a real one off. I made it from the skins of the neighbourhood cats."


it can also be used to describe something you feel has the attributes of being wholly original, or unique.

"This record is a one off. Listen. NO BELLS."

"Baby, you're a real one off, you know. They threw away the mold after they made you."

Gary

"This record is a one off. Listen. NO BELLS."

highscheme

i wouldn't hesitate using this term in any region to anyone

seems strange that people don't understand it

Fatback

Robert Downey Jr says it near the end of Iron Man 2. I just watched the Russian bootleg.

Shut the fuk up. Do not say anything else.

Reynaldo

Robert Downey Jr says it near the end of Iron Man 2. I just watched the Russian bootleg.

Shut the fuk up. Do not say anything else.

He dies at the end and his secretary's assistant is a spy.

Gary

just when this thread was getting boring.

highscheme

Robert Downey Jr says it near the end of Iron Man 2. I just watched the Russian bootleg.

Shut the fuk up. Do not say anything else.

He dies at the end and his secretary's assistant is a spy.

you motherfucker, thanks for letting everyone know that his secretary has an assistant