See Also:

off-the-peg (oh) and shy(1) (iou)


off-the-peg (oh)



adj BrE .off the 'rack AmE
off-the-peg clothes are made in standard sizes, not made especially to fit one person
-see also made-to-measure made-to-measure
-- off-the-pegoff the rack
adv
::It was only a cheap suit, bought off-the-peg.

shy(1) (iou)



shy adjective.

a. Of a horse: easily frightened or startled. OE-M17.
b. (Of a horse) unmanageable; transf. (of a person) flighty, skittish. dial. L18.
Reluctant to approach or encounter a particular person or thing, strangers, etc., due to timidity, caution, or distrust; spec. (of an animal or bird) timid towards humans. Also foll. by of. E17.
fight shy of: see FIGHT verb.
J. Buchan The blighter is as shy as a wood-nymph. R. Campbell Kruger National Park, where the animals have ceased to be shy.
b. As 2nd elem. of comb.: frightened of or averse to. L19.
Reluctant to undertake or averse to a particular course of action; chary, unwilling. Foll. by about, at, of, to (do), etc. E17.
O. Wister He was always very shy of demonstration. P. Carey It was his opinionand he was not shy of expressing it.
b. Foll. by of: unwilling to accept (a theory) or consider (a subject). Long rare or obsolete. M17.
a. Of a thing, action, etc.: characterized by or done with reserve or self-effacement; timid, cautious. M17.
G. Greene He made a tentative shy sketch of a wave towards Scobie.
b. Avoiding self-assertion, self-effacing or bashful in company; reserved. L17.
H. James He was still shyhe laughed..faintly and vaguely, at nothing. M. Keane Men he knew, but had been too shy to make friends with.
c. transf. Of a place etc.: secluded. E19.
Dubious, suspect; esp. of questionable character, disreputable. slang. E19.
C. J. Cherryh The shy side of legal...Doing trading on the side, without customs looking on.
a. Of a plant etc.: not prolific. E19.
b. Short (of), lacking; (of time) before. Foll. by of, on. colloq. L19.
Times Britoil dipped..yesterdayjust 2p shy of the year's low. M. Chabon Six months shy of my thirteenth birthday.
shyish adjective M18.
shyly adverb E18.
shyness noun M17.