Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

I'm inclined to agree with you, but with one qualification:   I wouldn't nowadays say that this is the "real" meaning, but rather the original one.   I'd put it this way:

Originally, or at least some time ago, it meant "unique to a particular time, place or circumstance".   God made of the Hebrews "a people peculiar to Himself", knowledge of hexadecimal arithmetic is almost peculiar to computer geeks, and so on.   Later that meaning was misunderstood, and people started using "peculiar" without the qualification:   They said something was just peculiar, meaning unique or strange.   Nowadays it doesn't even mean just strange; often it's used to mean "weird".   It's true that the original meaning was changed not a-purpose but through ignorance, but it was long enough ago that I'm unwilling to contest the additional meaning now; it's done.   I do insist, however, that you can also use it in the older sense if you want to, and with the older construction.

Patrick O'Brian is a modern novelist (now dead, alas!) whose best-known series took place in the early 1800s during the Napoleonic wars.   One of his more awe-inspiring talents was to write his dialogue in the words that were commonly used two centuries ago, with far fewer unwitting anachronisms than I've found in any other author.   This requires the reader to trot rather more often to the dictionary than I usually do.   In one of the novels, the following exchange takes place:

[Jack to Stephen:] ‘I have the particulars of the avowdsons I told you about some time ago. But tell me, is Martin an idoneous person?'

‘Idoneous for what?'

‘Oh, just idoneous. Two of the livings, if you can call them livings, are vacant; and his letter says I am required to present an idoneous person.'

‘As far as benefices are concerned no one could be more idoneous, fitting or suitable than Martin, since he is an Anglican clergyman.'

Jack is a bright man but words are not his forte; he wasn't sure what "idoneous" meant and probably assumed it could equally well mean "rich", "hard-working" or "pious".   In fact it meant "suitable" or "fitting", and therefore by itself means nothing.   I bring it up here because "peculiar", too, meant little by itself; to be useful it had to be explained that the thing was peculiar to something else.   There are lots of words like that.   "Am I too late?"   I dunno; too late to accomplish what, exactly?   Too late to enjoy the movie? or just too late to see the beginning?   "Are you too busy?"   Depends on what you want me to do.

The Marx Brothers (or rather, their screenwriters) played with the two meanings in A Day at the Races:

"...but running a sanitarium calls for a man with peculiar talents.

You don"t have to look any further. I"ve got the most peculiar talents of any doctor you ever met."