Tardis-like adj.

denoting something whose capacity is greater than is suggested by its exterior appearance

Also as adv.

  • [1976 Liverpool Echo 23 Dec. 6/6

    For those, like me, who always imagined that letters found their way from the four corners of the globe to the appropriate front doors as if transmitted by some Tardis-like magic device devised by a Dr. Who in the Postmaster-General’s office, it was a revelation to discover what goes on before the mail goes out. ]

  • 1984 Motor 12 May 9/1 (advt.)

    The line of the new Alfa 33 is a product of advanced mathematics. Computer calculations that created a compact aerodynamic style…and roomy, ‘Tardis’ like interior.

  • 2000 P. McCarthy McCarthy's Bar viii. 151

    Small family homes that, Tardis-like, have miraculously created the space to accommodate big-boned American families.

Research requirements

antedating 1984
Research History
Added to the OED in June 2002.

Last modified 2021-02-25 11:53:55
In the compilation of some entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries in OED.