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off-limits

 - 3 dictionary results

off-lim⋅its

[awf-lim-its, of-]
–adjective
forbidden to be patronized, frequented, used, etc., by certain persons: The tavern is off-limits to soldiers.

Origin:
1950–55, Americanism
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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off-lim·its   (ôf-lĭm'ĭts, ŏf-)
adj.  Not to be entered or frequented by a designated group: a bar that is off-limits to military personnel.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

off-limits 
OED says first attested 1952, in a U.S. military (Korean War) sense, but almost certainly from WWII (cf. Bill Mauldin cartoons), if not WWI.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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