[Ads-l] BOGO (when the second item is not free)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

In April I saw the following sign at the entrance to a store in an
outlet mall in northern Florida.

[Begin excerpt of text on sign]

         BOGO
BUY ONE T-SHIRT
 GET ONE 1/2 OFF
       --- MB ---
      SPORTS
Officially Licensed

[End excerpt]

This sign did not accord with the definition provided on Wikipedia
because the second item was not free.

Bogo
(disambiguation page on Wikipedia; viewed May 31, 2015)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogo
[Begin excerpt]
BOGO or BOGOF, an initialism for buy one, get one free, a common form
of sales promotion
[End excerpt]


Yet, the definition at the Urban Dictionary website allowed for the
possibility of "some lesser value". Has the meaning shifted over time?

BOGO: urbandictionary (viewed May 31, 2015)
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=BOGO
[Begin excerpt]
BOGO
Buy One, Get One (free or some lesser value)
that sale in produce, is it BOGO?
by stu f. May 04, 2004
[End excerpt]


The Oxford English Dictionary has an entry for BOGOF but there is no
entry for BOGO.

[Begin excerpt]
BOGOF, n.

Etymology:  Acronym < the initial letters of the advertising slogan
buy one get one free.

'Buy one get one free': a retail offer whereby a customer who
purchases a particular item receives another such free of charge; an
item obtained in this way.

1985   Progressive Grocer June 91   A recent buy-one, get-one-free
(BOGOF) promotion.
[End excerpt]

Garson

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