Dictionary

box standard en · ADJ

Etymology

Originally in reference to the hollow-tube frames used as cases or mounting in various machines but now usually understood in reference to factory packaging and default standards.

Meanings

1. (UK, colloquial, qualifier:engineering and technical contexts, used especially in automotive) Synonym of standard, especially with connotations of plainness and lack of modification.

Forms

Relateds

bog standard (more pejorative)

Synonyms

standard

box standard en · NOUN

Etymology

Originally in reference to the hollow-tube frames used as cases or mounting in various machines but now usually understood in reference to factory packaging and default standards.

Meanings

1. (obsolete) A hollow tube frame used for a machine.
   • Box standard or boxed standard, the standard, or main framework, of a machine or engine, which is hollowed internally to obtain the maximum of strength with the minimum of material. 1888, Lockwood's Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering, page 45:
   • ...the standards F 0, to support the jointing devices, consisting in the combination of the cutter-heads supported by adjustable box standards Y, having sliding bearings in the bars V f. 1884 June, Manufacturer & Builder, page 127:

Forms