'one-shot' (and other adj''s synonymous with it)

Question

Dear Teachers,If you could answer the following questions:(1)  Suppose I want to describe a certain action/procedure that needs to be carried out but once.My dictinary "offers" me the following adjectives:  one-time  one-spot ( Americanism )  one-off ( mostly BrEng ?)I have made a cursory googling before asking you but ... still there are some unclear nuances...Which of the following examples ( if any at all ) sound natural to you?"Getting a UK visa has never been an easy one-time ( = one-off ) procedure for people like me"?"If somebody tells you it is going to be just a one-spot action, don't trust them""All you need in this case is a one-off access to the database".(2)  It looks like "one-spot" often carries "negative connotations"? Is it really so?"This kind of a one-spot test may be completely wrong" - Does this make sense to you?Kind regards,muscovite

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Welcome to English Forums, Muscovite. Thanks for joining us. [<:o)]

I've never used any of these expressions except "one-shot deal."
None of you examples work for me. I'm not sure you have the concept right.

It sometimes means, "You'd better get it right the first time, because you're only going to get one shot at it." If your shot scares the bird and he flies away without a scratch, you've lost your opportunity.

When you say, "that needs to be carried out but once," it's not clear if you mean "once you've accomplished it, you don't have to do it again," or "you manage to achieve your goal on the first attempt."

If you're talking about getting a document from an official bureaucracy, I think you have to distinguish between the accomplishment and the attempt.
Perhaps you could say that getting your California drivers' license is a one-shot deal because you only have to get it once. That is, you don't have to take a test every year.
But your trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles may not be a one-shot deal, because you might keep failing the test.

Perhaps someone else can give you some examples of the expressions you have in mind.

Best wishes, - A.

Anonymous · Answer

Thank you, Avangi!

As follows from your explanation, one-shot deal is the only "well established" collocation (with one-shot) in AmEng?

I will keep this in mind!

Kind regards

muscovite

Avangi · Answer

We have "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!", but I'm not sure if it fits your definition.
(This one seems to find its way into a lot of songs.)

Anonymous · Answer

Hi again,

Below is an example I borrowed from my Longman ( 2005 edition on 2 CD's )

"It's yours for a one-off payment of only £200."

Could you please help me translate this?

Kind regards

muscovite

P.S. Thanks for the nice example with "once-in-a-lifetime'!

Clive · Answer

Hi,

"It's yours for a one-off payment of only £200."

You only have to pay once.

It implies that 200 pounds is not a lot of money.

eg You thought you had to pay this amount ten times, but you only have to pay it once .

Clive

'one-shot' (and other adj''s synonymous with it)

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