off-brandn.adj.
/ˈɒfbrand/, U.S. /ˈɔfˈbrænd/, /ˈɑfˈbrænd/ North American.
A. n.
A brand of commercial product which is unknown, unpopular, or considered inferior; an item having such a brand.Earliest in figurative context.
ΚΠ
1892 H. Y. Collins Fifty to One (typescript) i. 1 Scotty: I really believe you are an editor, and a smart man my dear Mr. Know, but I also believe you are an off brand. Know: Scotty you are right, and just now the Spurious article is not bringing in the price of the Genuine.
1965 Better Homes & Gardens Feb. 34/2 With off-brands, you're taking what could be a costly chance.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 27 June 1- g1 Some large discount or department stores may feature hundreds of brands of merchandise and may not feel quite as responsible when you choose the cheap off-brand and it falls apart.
1992 C. Shields Republic of Love v. 51 She's bought a new tube of toothpaste, an expensive off-brand she's never heard of.
B. adj.
Of a product or service: having no recognizable brand name. Also in extended use: of poor quality; second-rate, inferior; (also) odd, unusual.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > mediocrity > [adjective] > second- or third-rate
second-rate1669
third-rate1814
secondary1827
bum1878
low-grade1878
off-brand1929
pound shop1989
society > trade and finance > merchandise > article(s) to be sold > [adjective] > generic or not branded
off-brand1929
generic1977
no-name1977
white-label1978
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or extraordinary > [adjective] > special, extraordinary, or unusual
sunderlepeOE
specialc1325
strangec1330
undeemousa1400
outragec1400
singularc1400
stravagant1565
unusual1582
extraordinarya1586
remarkable1593
exordinary1601
peculiar1608
stupendous1640
eccentricala1652
particular1665
out-of-the-way1675
uncommon1705
awfy1724
exceptionable1801
tremendous1831
exceptional1846
exceptive1849
exceptionary1850
spesh1874
heart-stopping1891
off-brand1929
wild1955
cracker1964
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > abnormality > [adjective] > odd
quaintc1325
awkc1440
queer?a1513
odd1578
quaintish1594
odd-conceiteda1616
odd-ceited1652
whimsical1675
singulara1684
eccentric1685
oddish1705
rummish1709
comical1713
odd-like1718
rum1750
queerish1775
funny1793
quare1805
rummy1828
kinky1844
quirkish1848
quirky1873
odd-gates1906
funny-peculiar1916
antrin1925
off-brand1929
fanciful-
1929 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 20 Aug. 12/8 The best part of it all is that you can buy these famous brands of food products at prices as low, in most cases, as many grocers charge for unfamiliar, unknown, off-brand products.
1933 N.Y. Times 18 May 12 (advt.) You can now get the world's recognized quality tire for no more than an off-brand ‘nobody's tire’ would cost you.
1965 Better Homes & Gardens Feb. 34/2 Most of these people wouldn't consider purchasing an off-brand television set or car.
1975 Business Week 22 Dec. 54/1 Nelson admits to using an off-brand gasoline, because ‘the only difference I can detect is the 5 cents difference in price’.
1985 New Yorker 23 Sept. 41/2 I stopped at an off-brand all-night market.
1999 Harper's Mag. Feb. 66/3 The local reporters, all third-stringers working the off-brand candidate, are dolefully monitoring a dozen televisions stacked like building blocks on a conference table.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1892