Dictionary

shop-soiled en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈʃɑpˌsɔɪld/ (General-American)
• /ˈʃɒpsɔɪld/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From shop (noun) + soiled (adjective).

Meanings

1. Synonym of shopworn. ▸ Of a product in a retail store: damaged from being on display and handled by customers, etc.
   • The only book of poetry in the whole lot was a shop-soiled copy of The Poems of George Herbert in the World Classics series. 1977, Paul Hasluck, Mucking About: An Autobiography:
   • All Tuesday week afternoon she was hunting to match that chenille but at last she found what she wanted at Clery's summer sales, the very it, slightly shopsoiled but you would never notice 1922 February 2, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC:
   • The most usual examples of this are the sales of second-hand or shop-soiled goods where the vendor clearly states their condition and sells them "as seen". 2004, Richard Christou, Drafting Commercial Agreements:
2. (figuratively) Synonym of shopworn. ▸ Not fresh or new.

Forms