on spec

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Done on a speculative basis; with no assurance of profit. For example, We didn't design our house; the builder built it on spec. The use of spec as an abbreviation for speculation dates from the late 1700s.

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Words nearby on spec

on someone's back, on someone's coattails, on someone's nerves, on someone's side, on speaking terms, on spec, onstage, on standby, on-stream, on strike, on sufferance

How to use on spec in a sentence

Just the hard-on before you shoot unarmed members of the public.
'Babylon' Review: The Dumb Lives of Trigger-Happy Cops|Melissa Leon|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Three on-the-record stories from a family: a mother and her daughters who came from Phoenix.
I Tried to Warn You About Sleazy Billionaire Jeffrey Epstein in 2003|Vicky Ward|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
You just travel light with carry-on luggage, go to cities that you love, and get to hang out with all your friends.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was a brick wall that we turned into the on-ramp of a highway.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Could the (thus far) timid trembling give way to a full-on, grand mal seizure?
26 Earthquakes Later, Fracking’s Smoking Gun Is in Texas|James Joiner|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I drew back from the rim of Writing-On-the-Stone, that set of whispered phrases echoing in my ears.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Kingston-on-Thames is still provincial in appearance, though now the centre of a great growth of modern suburbs.
The Portsmouth Road and Its Tributaries|Charles G. Harper
Besides the districts mentioned, tobacco is grown largely in that of Frankfort-on-the Oder.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
Madame Malmaison had always been a little proud of the beauty and grace and sweetness of her fitter-on.
The Weight of the Crown|Fred M. White
Berwick-on-Tweed lies partly in England and partly in Scotland, the river which runs through it forming the boundary line.
British Highways And Byways From A Motor Car|Thomas D. Murphy