A special offer is a temporary reduction meant to attract buyers. Cheaper this week, and back to normal after.
The temporariness is what makes it an offer rather than a price, and advertising law in Britain requires that the higher price was genuinely charged for a reasonable period first, which is why offers are policed. Two for one, buy one get one free and a limited-time offer are all versions. The phrase on special offer is standard on a shelf label.
1nounspecial offerA temporary reduction in price to attract customers.
“The coffee is on special offer until Sunday.”
Practised in Shopping & Money, A Man Called Ove
First appears in chapter 4 of A Man Called Ove.
Practise this word