Polish Off
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To finish out of hand. In allusion to articles polished. I'll polish him off in no time.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Polish Off” mean?
To finish out of hand. In allusion to articles polished. I'll polish him off in no time.
Is “Polish Off” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.