reach-me-down

[ reech-mee-doun ]
/ ˈritʃ miˌdaʊn /

noun, adjective British.

Origin of reach-me-down

First recorded in 1860–65

Example sentences from the Web for reach-me-down

  • Every reach-me-down that had been hanging these twenty years flapped about their limbs, hindering their progress.

    The Cathedral |Joris-Karl Huysmans
  • It is like buying a reach-me-down suit, which I have never done.

    Dodo's Daughter |E. F. Benson
  • And you come to me stinkin' of beer in a reach-me-down overcoat, and pretend you be the law!

    Shining Ferry |Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch
  • A drama conceived in this reach-me-down fashion will scarcely have the breath of life in it.

    Play-Making |William Archer

British Dictionary definitions for reach-me-down

reach-me-down

noun informal

  1. (often plural) a garment that is cheaply ready-made or second-hand
  2. (as modifier)reach-me-down finery
(plural) trousers
(modifier) not original; derivative; stale a stock of reach-me-down ideas