run-of-the-mill
[ ruhn-uhv-thuh-mil ]
/ ˈrʌn əv ðəˈmɪl /
adjective
merely average; commonplace; mediocre: just a plain, run-of-the-mill house; a run-of-the-mill performance.
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Origin of run-of-the-mill
First recorded in 1925–30
SYNONYMS FOR run-of-the-mill
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for run of the mill
run-of-the-mill
adjective
ordinary, average, or undistinguished in quality, character, or nature; not special or excellent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for run of the mill
run-of-the-mill
"unspectacular," 1909 in a literal sense, in reference to material yielded by a mill, etc., before sorting for quality (cf. common run "usual, ordinary type," from 1712). Figurative use is from 1922.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for run of the mill
run of the mill
Common, ordinary, average: “His performance in the game was neither exemplary nor disastrous; it was simply run of the mill.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with run of the mill
run of the mill
Ordinary, average, as in There's nothing special about these singers—they're just run of the mill. This expression alludes to fabrics coming directly from a mill without having been sorted or inspected for quality. It has survived such similar phrases as run of the mine and run of the kiln, for the products of mines and kilns. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.