past its sell-by date

past its sell-by date
   outmoded or useless
   A cliché from the dating of food sold by retail, which is intended to convince the customer of its freshness:
    They were considered past their sell-by date, middle-aged southerners who had no active record since the, fifties. (O'Callaghan, 1998, explaining how the Provisional IRA members, largely based in the North, viewed their IRA predecessors)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • past its sell-by date — informal phrase old fashioned or no longer useful or interesting Once popular, the town is now well past its sell by date. Thesaurus: old fashionedsynonym old of thingshyponym …   Useful english dictionary

  • past its sell-by date — informal old fashioned or no longer useful or interesting Once popular, the town is now well past its sell by date …   English dictionary

  • sell-by date — sell by dates 1) N COUNT The sell by date on a food container is the date by which the food should be sold or eaten before it starts to decay. [BRIT] ...a piece of cheese four weeks past its sell by date. (in AM, use expiration date) 2) PHRASE: N …   English dictionary

  • sell-by date — n BrE 1.) the date stamped on a food product, after which it should not be sold ▪ a yoghurt two days past its sell by date 2.) informal a time beyond which something or someone is no longer interesting or useful ▪ This type of games console is… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sell-by date — ➔ date1 * * * sell by date UK US noun [C] UK (US pull date) COMMERCE ► a date printed on the container of a product such as food after which it should not be sold: »Never eat meat that is past its sell by date. »bear/carry/have a sell by date …   Financial and business terms

  • sell-by date — noun a date stamped on perishable produce indicating the date by which it should be sold • Regions: ↑United Kingdom, ↑UK, ↑U.K., ↑Britain, ↑United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, ↑Great Britain • Hypernyms: ↑ …   Useful english dictionary

  • sell-by date — noun (C) BrE 1 the date stamped on a food product, after which it should not be sold; expiration date AmE 2 be past its sell by date informal if an idea, method, system etc is past its sell by date it has become no longer useful or interesting …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • sell-by date — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms sell by date : singular sell by date plural sell by dates British a date printed on food products to show that they should not be sold after that date because they will no longer be good to eat • past its sell… …   English dictionary

  • date — ▪ I. date date 1 [deɪt] written abbreviation d noun [countable] 1. the words you use to talk about a particular day, month, and year: • The date on the letter was 30 June 2006. ˌaverage ˈdate …   Financial and business terms

  • past — past1 W1S1 [pa:st US pæst] adj ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ 1¦(previous)¦ 2¦(recent)¦ 3¦(finished)¦ 4¦(former)¦ 5¦(grammar)¦ ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ [Date: 1200 1300; Origin: Old past participle of pass] 1.) ¦(PREVIOUS)¦ [only before noun] done, used, or experienced before now …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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