| 释义 |
▪ I. off, adv., prep., a., and n.1|ɒf, ɔːf|
Forms: 1–7 of, (5 ofe, 6 offe), 5– off (Sc. dial. aff).
[Originally the same word as of, as explained under that word; off being at first a variant spelling, which was gradually appropriated to the emphatic form, i.e. to the adverb and the prepositional senses closely related to it, while of was retained in the transferred and weakened senses, in which the prep. is usually stressless and sinks to (əv). Off appears casually from c 1400, but of and off were not completely differentiated till after 1600: cf. A. 3, B. 1.]
In this article are included all examples of the adv., whether under (α) the earlier spelling of, or (β) the later off; but, of the prep., only those uses for which off is now the recognized form; for others see of.
A. adv.
I. Simple senses.
1. a. Expressing motion or direction from a place: To a distance, away, quite away; as in go off, run off, drive off. Also expressing resistance to motion towards: as in beat off, hang off, keep off, ward off.
α971Blickl. Hom. 5 Man sceolde mid sare on ðas world cuman,..and mid sare of ᵹewitan. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. Prol. 58 Leueful is with force force of showue. c1485Digby Myst. iii. 379 Com of þan, let vs be-gynne. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (1531) 80 Come of..thou that art disposed to leue all for the loue of Iesu. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 262 b, Peces of ordinaunce whiche shot of.
β1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 12 Neyther could we keepe off,..our outward enimies. 1659D. Pell Impr. Sea 557 To drive off his melancholy thoughts. 1726G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 28 To send my Mate off with the Boat. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xvii, She is gone off with two gentlemen in a post chaise. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop vi, Mr. Quilp put his hat on and took himself off. 1896Law Times C. 508/1 [He] succeeded in getting the animal under control, and rode off.
b. fig.
αc1000Laws of Ine c. 74 §2 Buton he him wille fæhþe of aceapian. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxxiv. 150 The kynge bought of sir Thomas Hallande,..and therle of Tankernyll, and payed for them twentie thousande nobles.
β1568Grafton Chron. II. 170 With fayre wordes [he] put them off for that tyme. 1629, etc. [see buy v. 7 a]. 1666J. Davies Hist. Caribby Isls. 268 They will fall off from what they have promised. 1707W. Funnell Voy. round World 259 A small matter of Money will buy off a great Fault. 1902G. H. Lorimer Lett. Merchant xiv. 203 By the time the real weather comes along everybody has guessed wrong and knocked the market off a cent or two. 1934G. B. Shaw On Rocks i. 25 You have to buy him off with a scrap of dole. 1971Nature 30 Apr. 604/1 Halfway through the book, the reasons why the rapid development of fluidics in the early 1960s has tended to fall off recently become clear.
c. In nautical lang.: Away from land, or from the ship; also, away from the wind.
1610Shakes. Temp. i. i. 53 Lay her a hold, a hold, set her two courses off to Sea againe, lay her off. 1611Bible Acts xxvii. 32 Then the souldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off [all prec. vv. away]. a1621Beaum. & Fl. Thierry & Theod. iv. ii, I would I had A convoy too, to bring me safe off. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 132 He stood off to Sea, and we plied up under the shore. 1699Ibid. II. ii. 22 Then she would fall off 2 or 3 Points from the Wind. 1723G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 27 To sail to the Isle of Sal, and bring off all the People. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 107 Nothing off... To bring the ship's head nearer to the Wind.
d. ellipt. Gone off, just going off. Also fig. fallen or falling asleep.
1791‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsem. ix. (1809) 106 My horse..was off with me in a jiffey. 1815Chron. in Ann. Reg. 16 He raised himself up..and said almost inarticulately, ‘I am off’, and expired. 1822–56De Quincey Confess. (1862) 76 I'm off for the Red Sea. 1852Mrs. Smythies Bride Elect xliv, Come, Geraldine, it is time to be off! 1861H. Kingsley Ravenshoe xxxviii, He was as fast off as a top. 1865Dickens Dr. Marigold's Prescript. v. 32 ‘Why, you're talking in your sleep!’..‘What was I talking about?’ ..‘Greek, I think..but I was just off too’.
e. they're off (occas. they are off): a colloq. phrase indicating that a race has started; to be off and running: to be making good progress.
1833Mirror of Lit. 27 July 59/2 They are off! ‘No, no’— cries one jockey whose horse turned his tail to the others. 1846‘Sylvanus’ Pedestrian & Other Reminisc. xxiv. 227 The horses are paraded, the flag is dropped—‘they're off!’ is repeated by twenty thousand tongues. 1872B. Jerrold London viii. 74 Clear the course!... A flutter goes through the sea of heads on the Grand Stand... They're off! 1928E. O'Neill Strange Interlude viii. 288 They're off!.. Navy and Washington are leading—Gordon's third. 1967Boston Herald 1 Apr. 1/1 Although he has not announced it officially, Wallace appears to be off and running for the presidency. 1970Wilson & Michaels tr. Charrière's Papillon vi. 211 We were off and running.
f. ellipt., = off one's head (head n.1 34): (somewhat) crazy. colloq. or dial.
1866W. Gregor Dial. Banffshire in Trans. Philol. Soc. 215 Aff, to be, to be deranged; as, ‘He wiz lang jummlet; bit he's aff athegeethir noo.’ 1887Lantern (New Orleans) 9 Apr. 3/2 Humor him as he was a little off. 1904W. H. Smith Promoters i. 8 I've sometimes thought you were a trifle visionary, but I never considered you seriously off. 1927W. E. Collinson Contemp. Eng. 116 Mental debility finds adequate expression in a whole series: he's not all there, a bit off (the top), he's off his chump. 1975B. Wood Killing Gift ii. i. 47 He was an old man, after all; perhaps he was just a little off... ‘No, gentlemen, I'm not senile.’
g. In bad condition; wrong, abnormal, odd; spec. (a) of a horse or athlete: not in good condition or form; off-form; (b) of food: stale, sour, contaminated; (c) of social behaviour: unacceptable; ill-mannered; esp. in phr. (it's) a bit off.
Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 2 c.
1846Spirit of Times 18 Apr. 91/1 He had endurance and speed enough to make a good race in any crowd, when ‘all right’, but then, he [sc. a horse] was liable to be oftener ‘off’ than otherwise. 1868H. Woodruff Trotting Horse xxxvi. 300 When a trotter wins with great ease,..it is assumed, not that the loser was ‘off’, but that the winner is greatly superior. 1902G. H. Lorimer Lett. Merchant xvi. 231, I may be off in sizing this thing up, because it's a little out of my line. 1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin ix. 153 ‘S'pose I'd best be makin' a move, though,’ he added ruefully. ‘Bit orf, I calls it!’ 1922J. Cannan Misty Valley 58 Audrey had taken them sailing, but she had upset the boat, and they had drifted down stream, clinging to the sail, saying that it was a bit off. Whereafter they would go down to the pier and knit jumpers. 1941E. Bowen Look at Roses 68 ‘Your caller sounded to me a bit off.’ ‘Oh, Mrs. Massey's had bad news. She..didn't feel well.’ 1951C. Armstrong Black-Eyed Stranger (1952) xiv. 117 Ambielli's got principles. They are a little off, slightly out of whack, you know. 1952R. Finlayson Schooner came to Atia 140 Meat that tasted ‘off’. 1953K. Amis Lucky Jim v. 56 It was rather rude, all the same. I could see Mrs. Neddy thought it was a bit off. 1960‘A. Burgess’ Right to Answer ii. 23 That tomato juice is a bit off. Been in the tin too long. 1966‘W. Cooper’ Mem. New Man ii. v. 155 It is just a teentsy-weentsy bit off, isn't it, darling, not to let you know he was coming. 1974Listener 24 Jan. 102/1 Something was a little off with the mechanism, so the feeder-belt chewed up the baggage in transit.
2. a. At a distance; distant. Often after a statement of the distance; also in afar off, far off.
αa1500Gregory Chron. in Hist. Coll. Citizen Lond. (Camden) 213 One come and sayd that she was ix myle of. 1526Tindale Matt. xxvi. 58 Peter folowed hym a farre of [so 16th c. vv., 1611 off].
β1573J. Sandford Hours Recreat. (1576) 213 Greete a redde man and a bearded woman three myles off. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 610 A little off runneth a River. 1638Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 14 We see the Cape or extreame point of Africk 12 leagues off. 1671R. Montague in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 501 These are projects a great way off. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xv. xii, A street or two off. 1874G. W. Dasent Half a Life II. 173 We shall meet at Oxford in October, not much more than a month off. 1897Hall Caine Christian xi, Glory stood off from the looking-glass and looked.
b. Naut.
1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 44 In the morning we descryed a Sail off at Sea. 1726G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 26, I lay off at an Anchor.
c. fig. Distant or remote in fact, nature, character, feeling, thought, etc. Obs. or arch. (in Gr. Britain).
a1555Ridley Wks. 173 So far off is it that they do confirm this opinion of transubstantiation, that [etc.]. 1571Buchanan Detect. Mary B iv, So far was it of that hys lodging and thynges..was prouidit for him..that he found nat any ane token toward him of a freindly minde. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. ii. 64 That's off, that's off. a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 280 Cæsar..was altogether off from thinking it probable. 1887Presbyt. Banner (U.S.) Oct., The leader..is not merely off on the subject of future probation, but also with regard to the Lord's day.
3. a. Expressing separation from attachment, contact, or position on; as in to break, cast, cut, put, shake, take off, etc.
αc1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. v. 30 ᵹif þin swiðre hand þe aswice, aceorf hi of & awurp hi fram þe. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 139 He hit bad of acken. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 32/98 Þo is heued was of i-smite. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 170 Þenne Clement þe Cobelere caste of his cloke. c1449Pecock Repr. i. x. 52 Y wole leie myn arme to be smyte of. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 449 He..of his claithis suddantlie hes done. 1568Turner Herbal iii. 54 Yelowe scales: whiche with a light occasion fall of. 1571Digges Pantom. ii. xix. O iij b, To cut of from any Trapezium..what part therof ye list. 1646J. Hall Horæ Vac. 67 The taking of the Plumets of a clocke to make it goe in the better Order. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 59 Good Steel breaks short of all Gray.
β1382Wyclif Matt. xix. 7 To ȝeue a litil boke of forsakynge, and to leeue off [1388 leeue of]. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 31 Do off þi schone of þi fete. 1535Coverdale Song Sol. v. 3, I haue put off [1611 off] my cote. 1568Tilney Disc. Marriage C iv b, [He] bit off his owne tongue. 1637Star Chamb. Decree §30 In the putting off the knots. a1756Mrs. Heywood New Present (1771) 43 Let it stew..then strain it off. 1834Medwin Angler in Wales II. 154 The ball..struck one of the metal buttons on the breast of my coat, and glanced off. 1886Manch. Exam. 22 Feb. 6/1 The entire surface of a country..divided off into farmsteads.
b. fig. In quot. 1710 for ‘off their hands’.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. 356 Let us shake off this slouthfulnesse. a1600Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxiv. 75 Cast of thy comfort. 1710Steele Tatler No. 248 ⁋8 The common Design of Parents is to get their Girls off as well as they can. 1711Addison Spect. No. 105 ⁋3 Will. laught this off at first as well as he could. 1777Watson Philip II (1839) 121 The people threw off the reserve which they had hitherto maintained.
c. with ellipsis of pa. pple. = come, cut, fallen off; esp. put or taken off as clothes; no longer on.
a1425Cursor M. 7211 (Trin.) [My strengþe] is he seide in my here: If hit were of, I were not þon No strenger þen anoþer mon. 1530Tindale Pract. Popish Prelates Wks. (1573) 350/1 When the ring was of, he commaunded to burye her. 1602Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. i. Wks. 1856 I. 90 Enter Balurdo with a beard, halfe of, halfe on. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 211 With some of his clothes on, and some off. 1797Anecd. Ld. Chatham (ed. 6) I. xiii. 253 The blossom was off, and the fruit was set. 1868Law Rep. 3 C.P. 423 The horse had his bridle off and a nose-bag on.
d. Theatr. = off stage adv. Also transf. and fig.
1774[see stage n. 5]. 1775T. Campbell Diary 4 Mar. (1947) 44 The players..stood their ground for a long time—but were at length hissed off. Ibid., Mr. Vernon attempted to speak, but he wḍ not be heared—still the cry was off, off. 1805T. Dibdin in G. Colman John Bull p. i, To whom, thus midway placed, I say, be kind, John Bull before, Oh, spare John Bull behind (pointing off.). 1836Dickens Sk. Boz 1st Ser. II. 255 ‘But you must take care you don't knock a wing down...’ ‘I shall fall with my head ‘off’, and then I can't do any harm.’ c1863T. Taylor Ticket-of-Leave Man i. 7 The Bellevue Tea Gardens,..ornamental orchestra and concert room... Music heard off. 1909‘I. Hay’ Man's Man vi. 83 Portentous trampings ‘off’ announced the return of the glee⁓party. 1923Referee 12 Aug. 3/3 The leopardess..was heard to roar a good deal ‘off’,..making her only appearance [on the stage]—in a cage. 1924, etc. [see noise n. 3 c]. 1954T. S. Eliot Confid. Clerk i. 27 Lady Elizabeth Mulhammer's voice off: Just open that case, I want something out of it. 1965New Statesman 7 May 739/1 The elaborate framework of posh voices off intoning fragments of letters.
e. Of an item of food: deleted from the menu; not available. colloq.
[1870D. J. Kirwan Palace & Hovel x. 154 On ‘off’ days they have soup and thick gruel for breakfast.] 1902Farmer & Henley Slang V. 89/2 ‘Chops is hoff’ = ‘there are no more chops to-day’. 1933[see bawl v. 3 c]. 1953‘M. Innes’ Christmas at Candleshoe ii. 24 The celerity with which the less unpalatable dishes are prone to be ‘off’ in English hotels. 1966N. Freeling Dresden Green ii. 123 Sorry sir, said the waitress in the teashop, the pudding's off. We can do you a nice ice-cream though. 1974D. Chantler Man who Followed ii. 60 Tell the waiters..the Tutti-Frutti is off.
4. a. So as to interrupt continuity or cause discontinuance; as in break off, leave off, declare off, etc.
αc1340–[see break v. 54]. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 377 Leve of [L. Desiste], Alwyn, wiþ þy good wille. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 172 Is nane sa gude as leif of, and mak na mair stryfe. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. v. 36 His deuotion..breaking of.
β1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 31 b, It will soone wax barraine, and leave off fruit bearing. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 43 Upon Saturday..they break off work sooner by an hour. 1818Sporting Mag. III. 91 The match went off, and all bets were declared void. 1819Metropolis II. 69 The Duke has declared off, and the wounded lover does not seem to be anxious to make his proposals of marriage. 1892Bookman Oct. 27/2 Zola began by being an idealist. He has not left off being one. Mod. To cut off supplies; to turn the water or gas off.
b. Discontinued, stopped, given up; no longer in operation or going on.
1752C. Lennox Fem. Quix. i. v, His illness having been only a violent head-ache,..being now quite off. 1760R. Heber Horse Matches ix. p. xxv, Match off, by consent. 1785Mrs. Fletcher in Wesley's Serm. lvii. iii. 12, Wks. 1811 IX. 36 His fever seemed quite off. 1882Daily News 15 Aug. 2/1 He understood that the whole negotiation was now off. 1901Scotsman 12 Mar. 5/4 When football is ‘off’ and cricket not yet ‘on’. Mod. The gas is off at the meter. The water has been off for some hours.
c. transf. Of a person: Disengaged, done with.
1710Steele Tatler No. 223 ⁋ 5 A Youth married under Fourteen Years old may be off if he pleases when he comes to that Age. 1818Scott ‘Old Song’ in Br. Lamm. xxix, It is best to be off wi' the old love, Before you be on wi' the new.
d. Away or free from one's work, school, service, etc.
1861J. O'Neil Diary 1 Apr. in J. Burnett Useful Toil (1974) i. 78 At Low Moor there is a great many off. There is above a hundred looms standing. 1882J. D. McCabe New York 384 Then begins five hours' patrol..after which he is ‘off’. 1883, etc. [see day off s.v. day n. 19]. 1885, etc. [see night n. 5 a]. 1916B. Ruck Girls at his Billet xviii. 242, I am sure your auntie..would be quite agreeable to letting us have the afternoon off for the ceremony. 1940F. Sargeson Man & Wife (1944) 21 Of course Sally wasn't off for long. And they gave her a rise. 1970‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird v. 74, I was..bedding the avocados in lettuce. Anne-Marie was off but Helmuth did the last stages. Ibid. viii. 128 It was Anne-Marie's afternoon off.
5. a. So as to exhaust or finish; so as to leave none; to the end; entirely, completely, to a finish; as to clear off, drink off, pay off, polish off, work off.
c1440St. John 228 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1881) 471 Þou..saynede þe coppe swetely and suppede it off syne. 1567J. Maplet Gr. Forest 47 Socrates..compelled of malicious Iudges to take y⊇ Cup,..and so to drink it off. 1660Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 18 Some seauenteen shipps to be payd of. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 167 Contented to pay off the mortgage. 1883Gilmour Mongols xvii. 201 No set form of liturgy to be got off by heart and repeated. 1890G. A. Smith Isaiah II. xii. 202 We do not..kill them off by gladiatorial combats. 1897Westm. Gaz. 20 July 7/2 These two..will have to shoot off the tie for the Bronze Medal. 1900Ibid. 13 Dec. 2/3 What is known amongst breeders as ‘feeding off’ for table poultry is a thriving industry.
b. Finished, worked off; done with work.
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing 385 A Press-man usually says, I am off, meaning he has Wrought off his Token, his Heap, his Form. 1707Hearne Collect. 26 Aug. (O.H.S.) II. 36 When ye Text of Livy is off I will consider.
6. a. In the way of abatement, diminution, or decay; as in to fall off, cool off, go off; also, to be off.
1632Star Chamb. Cases (Camden) 121 Judgment was stayed and the Costes taken off. 1797Monthly Mag. III. 501 Out of every thousand men, 28 die off annually. 1826Examiner 695/1 The novelty had gone off a little. 1862Lowell Biglow P. Poems 1890 II. 260 They'll cool off when they come to understand. 1893National Observer 7 Oct. 536/1 The place seemed to have gone off a good deal.
b. Of stocks, shares, etc.: lower in value or price (by a specified amount or numbered points).
1929Times 30 Oct. 14/1 Duke Power ‘opened’ at 130 off 39½ points, Newhaven Railway at 90 off 18. 1931Daily Express 21 Sept. 14/4 Japanese bonds were only slightly off. 1964Financial Times 12 Mar. 21/5 Belfast Ropework were 6d off to 35s 6d. 1977Times 19 Nov. 17/5 By the close the FT Index was just 0·5 off at 480·5.
c. with ellipsis of taken. Of retail commodities: reduced in price by a specified amount.
1965New Statesman 9 Apr. 562/1 Don't be put off by the fact that both packets also say ‘3d off’. 1966‘J. Ashford’ Consider Evidence i. 5 Tomato soup was being sold at threepence a tin off. 1968‘J. Le Carré’ Small Town in Germany v. 71 Don't matter what you fancy: radios, dish-washers, cars; he'll get you a bit off, like.
7. In all senses, off may be followed by from; formerly, and still colloq. and dial. by of.
a.1526Tindale Matt. viii. 30 A good waye off from them. 1542Boorde Dyetary viii. (1870) 246 Stand or syt a good waye of from the fyre. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 109 The wind is commonly off from the Land. 1871Carlyle in Mrs. C.'s Lett. III. 200 She wished to be off from the July bargain.
b.1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 96 A fall off of a Tree. 1667Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 224 The Lords and we cannot yet get off of the difficultyes risen betwixt us. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 49 About a furlong off of the Porters Lodge. 1712Steele Spect. No. 306 ⁋6, I could not keep my Eyes off of her. 1775P. Oliver in T. Hutchinson's Diary 7 Dec. I. 581 A Rebell Pirate..taken..off of Cape Ann. 1824J. Wight Mornings at Bow St. 21 Two young men..were charged by a watchman with having ‘bother'd him on his bate,’ and refused to ‘go along off of it when he tould 'em.’ 1843T. C. Haliburton Attaché 1st Ser. II. xii. 210 The groom has stole her oats, forgot to give her water, and let her make a supper sometimes off of her nasty, mouldy, filthy beddin’. 1875P. Brooks New Starts in Life viii. 129 If you could have filled his pockets with gold, and feasted his hunger off of silver dishes. 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn vi. 32 I'd borrow two or three dollars off of the judge for him. a1922T. S. Eliot Waste Land Drafts (1971) 5 The reputation the place gets, off of a few barflies. 1962F. Norman Guntz i. 15, I got hold of this very very old typewriter off of a friend of mine. Ibid. iii. 24 After his secretary had picked him off of the floor he got on the blower to his accounts department. 1965T. Parker Five Women i. 45 They'll thieve off-of anyone and jump in bed with anyone. 1974J. Stubbs Painted Face xxiii. 284 Get off of me, will you, sir?
II. In phrases and locutions.
8. Off is used idiomatically with many verbs, as buy, come, dash, get, go, look, mark, palm, pass, rattle, show, take, etc. q.v.
9. a. Used with ellipsis of come, go, take, etc., so as itself to function as a vb. off with = take or put off.
c1205Lay. 5084 Awei he warp his gode breond: & of mid þere burne. 14..W. Paris Cristine 295 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1878) 187 Hire hede shalle ofe fulle sekyrly To morne. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. ii. iii. 63 Ile off, But first, Ile do my errand. 1617Rich Irish Hubbub (1623) 24 He that pledgeth must likewise off with his cap. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 111 If hee returned without victory, hee knew his head should off. 1646N. Lockyer Serm. 19, I cannot hand off nor heart off. 1753Foote Eng. in Paris ii. Wks. 1799 I. 52 We'll off in a post-chaise directly. Mod. vulgar colloq. He off and bought another.
b. esp. in imperative phrases. off! = stand off! be off! off with you! = be off!
1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 344 Off with his sonne George's head. 1601― All's Well i. i. 168 Off with 't while 'tis vendible. 1717E. Smith Phædra v. 54 Off, or I fly for ever from thy sight. 1809Malkin Gil Blas ii. vii. ⁋1 Off with you! and do not return. 1822Byron Vis. Judgm. xciii, Some cried ‘Off, off!’ As at a farce. 1877Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 402 Off with your caps and throw them up and cry ‘Hurrah!’
10. right off, straight off: straightway, forthwith, immediately. See right, straight.
11. Subjoined to well, ill, better, worse, badly, comfortably, and similar advbs., and after how (‘How are they off?’), off has the force of ‘-circumstanced’, ‘-conditioned’, esp. as regards command of the means of life; well off, in good circumstances, etc. Rarely attrib. or as adj.
This prob. arose from the phrase come off (come v. 61 f). One who has ‘come well out’ of a doubtful affair is said to be ‘well out’ of it; so one who has ‘come well off’ from (or in) a struggle may be said to be ‘well off’; cf. esp. quots. 1733–62. The most common use may be explained as ‘that has come off, or fared (well or ill)’, in the battle of life.
1733Swift Apology, Since I 'scap'd being made a scoff, I think I'm very fairly off. 1741Richardson Pamela II. 251 Let me sit down, Miss, anywhere..for I have been sadly off. 1762Goldsm. Cit. W. lxxxviii, Marriage is at present so much out of fashion, that a lady is very well off, who can get any husband at all. 1776C. Lee in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) II. 485 How are you off in the article of intrenching tools? 1845Mozley Laud Ess. (1892) I. 179 The clergy..had lost the advantages of obits [etc.], and were miserably off. 1851H. Mayo Pop. Superst. (ed. 2) 186 The earth is the best off. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. iv. xii, I am in another way of business. And I am rather better off. 1873Mrs. Oliphant Innocent III. xxi. 351 He was not well enough off to marry. 1884H. Spencer in Contemp. Rev. June 772 While to the well-off the exaction means loss of luxuries, to the ill-off it means loss of necessaries. 1884G. Allen Philistia III. 161 They are very badly off, poor people. 1888J. Payn in Illustr. Lond. News 10 Mar. 236/1 A well-known and well-off man of letters.
12. either off or on, either one way or another, in any way. neither off nor on, without reference, irrelevant (to): cf. ‘neither here nor there’; irresolute, fickle. See also off and on.
1549Latimer 6th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 159 It was neyther of nor on, to that that Paule sayed.
13. Used with a preceding numeral to represent a quantity in production or manufacture, esp. one off (see one 30 b).
1934, etc. [see one 30 b]. 1947Crowther & Whiddington Science at War 49 Manufacturers found it very difficult to give up mass production, in order to make the 200 or so sets ‘off’. 1970Cabinet Maker & Retail Furnisher 30 Oct. 205/2 Without barrier coats mould breakdown can start after 60 units off. 1973Physics Bull. Apr. 238/2 (Advt.), Kienzle printers. 6 off, surplus to manufacturing requirements.
B. prep.
I. Of motion or direction.
1. a. Of removal from a position on, attached to, or in contact with (anything): Away from, down from, up from, so as no longer to lie, rest, or lean on.
αa855O.E. Chron. an. 797 Her Romane..hine of his setle afliemdon. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 201 We habbeð don of us þe ealde man. c1205Lay. 30802 Þat maiden..droh of hire uingre An of hire ringe. a1300Cursor M. 15024 (Cott.) Branches þai brak o [Gött., etc. of] bogh. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. i. (1495) 592 Leues fall of trees in wynter tyme. c1440Generydes 2798 Of his hors he felle vppon the playn. 1642tr. Perkins' Prof. Bk. iii. §209. 93 To deliver seisin of land by force off a feoffment is to remove all persons of the land. 1665Marvell Corr. Wks. 1872–5 II. 184 Our navy is speeding to chase the Dutch again of our seas.
βc1400Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 6 Foure graynes of þe same tree þat his fader ete þe appel off. Ibid. vi. 20 He..takes þe ryng off his fynger. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 89 His kerchefe was pulled off his head. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. i. 80 How she waded through the durt to plucke him off me. 1600― A.Y.L. i. iii. 16, I could shake them off my coate. 1670Narborough in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1711) 84 And gathered several green Apples off the Trees. 1711Addison Spect. No. 159 ⁋7 Take thine Eyes off the Bridge, said he. 1743H. Walpole Lett. (1857) I. 226 A man falling off a ladder. 1873Kingsley Prose Idylls 129 The sheep have been driven off the land below. 1881J. F. Keane Six Months in Meccah vi. 158, I came across an object that nearly brought me off my beast.
b. fig. From resting, depending, determining, etc. upon. off one's hands, one's head: see the ns.
αc1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 291 Vnderstond, ȝe kingis; and schaak of ȝou rudenesse, ȝe þat jugen londis.
β1601Shakes. All's Well ii. iii. 250 Thou hast a sonne shall take this disgrace off me. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 264, I had persuaded him off that. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 52 If we took such Foals off their Dams the first Week they were dropt. 1742Fielding J. Andrews iv. iii, He hath taken several poor off our hands. 1809Malkin Gil Blas i. ii. ⁋3 An honest jockey who would take it [my mule] off my hands. 1889J. S. Winter Mrs. Bob (1891) 152 That woman must be going off her head. 1894Doyle Mem. S. Holmes 215, I have been off my head ever since the blow fell.
2. Of source: From the hands, charge, or possession of; esp. with take, buy, borrow, hire, and the like. Also expressed by from. Cf. of.
1535Coverdale 2 Chron. xxxv. 11 And they kylled the Passeouer, and the prestes toke it off their handes, and sprenkled it. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 33 These Lines are taken off a Scale, that is divided into 20 parts to an Inch. Ibid. 60 Take off your Scale of Equal Parts with your Compasses 169. 1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty x. 108 It was drawn from a plaster-of-Paris figure cast off nature. 1885Act 48 & 49 Vict. c. 41 §9 (3) A grand jury may..present any sum, to be raised off the county at large..for the purpose. 1891C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 36 A villager had come..to know whether Blincoe ‘would take a goose off him’. 1897Daily News 1 June 3/5 She admitted borrowing the 1l. off the plaintiff.
3. Of material or substance: with dine, eat, etc.
1815W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 305 He always..eats a supper off pork steaks, nearly raw. 1828P. Cunningham N.S. Wales (ed. 3) II. 213 Each day the convict sits down to dinner off either beef, pork, or plum-pudding. 1861G. Meredith Evan Harrington viii, An old gentleman who had dined there..four days in the week, off dishes dedicated to the particular days.
4. Of deduction, or abatement: From.
1833Alison Europe (1849) I. iii. §15. 259 The sums..which she saved off her allowance. Mod. To get something taken off the price.
II. Of position.
5. a. Away from being on; not on; esp. no longer on.
† off the stones, off the city pavement, out of the town.
[c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 141 If I were of lond, þe werre suld sone bigynne.] 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 235/1 It is reported of the Spanish Dominions that the Sun is never off some part of it. 1759Brown Compl. Farmer 112 As soon as the dew is off the ground. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xii, They are all off the bridge now. a1845Hood Ode imitated fr. Horace, Not thus the city streamlets flow; They make no music as they go, Tho' never ‘off the stones’. 1870Gd. Words 133/2 You can scarcely find footing when once off the beaten road.
b. fig. Of state, or condition: (a) Away from (something normal or usual). (b) Not occupied with, engaged in, or bent upon; disengaged from; also, having lost interest in; averse to; off form: in bad form; off one's game: see game n. 6 f. See also off duty phr.
1681Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) I. 67 The grand jury for Middlesex were about finding a bill against the Kings guards as rioters, but they are now off it. 1682–[see guard n. 5 b]. 1699W. Dampier Voy. II. i. 166 Finding it to be nought, he would have been off his Bargain. 1795Wolcott (P. Pindar) Pindariana Wks. 1812 IV. 111, I am off my feeding. 1807Scott Let. 14 Mar. (1932) I. 359 This principle that the pursuers are entitled to have their time compensated when they were bona fide off work. 1816–[see feed n. 1 b]. 1827Examiner 187/2 She was scolding him, because he was off work. 1853Mrs. Gaskell Cranford iv. 74, I had a note to say her mistress was ‘very low and sadly off her food’. 1889E. Dowson Let. 16 Nov. (1967) 117 You are perhaps right in being ‘off’ Gortsachoff's though the cooking is less deleterious than Pinolis. 1909W. B. Yeats Let. 10 Dec. (1954) 544 She seemed as eager as ever about the play. I had thought she was off it. 1910Ibid. 8 Jan. 546, I have not touched the long play but will come to it fresh from being so long off it. 1912C. Mathewson Pitching in a Pinch vii. 142 The Chicago pitchers were away off form in the series. 1913C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. ii. xviii. 452 He said he was ‘off girls’ at the moment. 1929E. Bowen Last Sept. xxiv. 308 ‘What about their bungalow?’ ‘Oh, that was just an idea; they are quite off it.’ 1973‘H. Carmichael’ Too Late for Tears xiii. 153 I'm off my food, that's all.
6. a. Distant from (lit. and fig.).
a1627Middleton Widow iii. ii, Two mile off this place. 1705Addison Italy 375 About Two Miles off this Town. 1863Geo. Eliot Romola xiv, He caught sight of Tessa, only two yards off him. 1885Howells Silas Lapham (1891) I. 73 White, or a little off white.
b. Naut. To seaward of; opposite or abreast of to seaward; also, away from (the wind): see wind. See also off-shore.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. 138 Ready to give his best Judgement of his Distance off the Shore. 1707W. Funnell Voy. round World 126 Off it lie two Rocks or small Islands. 1726G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 3 The Stagg Rocks off the Lizard. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. xiii. (1827) I. 426 The fleet..had been stationed off the Isle of Wight. 1813Examiner 4 Jan. 6/1 The enemy keeping two points off the wind. 1879Froude Cæsar xvi. 256 A sea battle..was fought off the eastern promontory of the Bay of Quiberon.
7. ellipt. Opening or turning out of.
1845Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 312 In Mary's little room (off my uncle's). 1851H. Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 225 (Hoppe) Watling-street, Bow-lane, Old-change, and other thoroughfares off Cheapside and Cornhill. 1860All Year Round No. 66. 372 In a small street off one of the west-central squares.
8. from off: = sense 1, off from (A. 7).
a1425Cursor M. 25596 (Fairf.) Þen ihesus þou was tane fra of þe crosse in flesshe & bane. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. iii. 43 Shall..quite from off the earth their memory be raste? 1595Shakes. John i. i. 145 Would I might neuer stirre from off this place. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) I. 135 (Amiens) Wiping them [tears] away from off the cheeks of the first and fairest of women. 1819Byron Juan ii. lxxxviii, As if to win a part from off the weight He saw increasing on his father's heart. 1845Aytoun Bon Gaultier Ball. 90 He lighted down from off his steed.
9. In combs. with the and a n., used attrib. or as adj., as off-the-course, occurring away from a race-course; off-the-face, of a hat: not covering or shading any part of the face; off-the-job, (a) done or happening away from one's work; (b) unemployed; off-the-rack = off-the-peg; off-the-road, located, operated, or occurring away from roads; off-the-shelf, obtained from stock; ready-made; also fig. Also off-the-cuff, off-the-map, off-the-peg, off-the-shoulder; see these ns.
1961Times 2 June 22/2 She makes a tremendous off-the-course bet.
1908Sears, Roebuck Catal. 1036/2 Pretty ‘off the face’ hat for children. 1953News Chron. 2 June 1/4 The Queen Mother, in a white feathered gown and off-the-face white hat. 1962Guardian 3 Oct. 8/2 Off-the-job training of men over 25 for semi-skilled work. 1967Time 21 July 51 Some sort of new company-financed plan enabling an off-the-job worker to maintain ‘his normal living standard’ for up to a year. 1970Times 9 Feb. 19 The off-the-job study is essential because it removes the pressures and distractions of the shop-floor. 1970Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) 21 Feb. (Green Sheet Sect.) 4/2 An off-the-rack mod suit. 1974H. Waugh Parrish for Defence (1975) xxxvii. 173 The dress wasn't made for it [sc. her figure]. That was the trouble with off-the-rack clothes. 1975‘A. Thackeray’ One Way Ticket i. 24 He wore off-the-rack clothes.
1962Guardian 4 Oct. 14/2 Off-the-road training grounds for learner drivers. 1973Country Life 18 Oct. 1172/2 Another type of off-the-road transport is the all-terrain vehicle, or ATV.
1966Electronics 17 Oct. 38 The fact that its roll in a normal ocean is only 1° means that off-the-shelf, land-rated equipment can be used. 1971Engineering Apr. 88 (Advt.), No chance of errors and ‘off-the-shelf’ service.
C. adj. [The adv. used attrib.]
(Arising apparently from the dropping of the hyphen in an adverbial combination: thus off-side, off side. See off- 4.)
1. a. Situated farther off, more distant, farther, far.
1856Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 286 To leap from the top of the wall, which was only high on the off-side. Mod. Newspr. It is on the ‘off’ side of the spectator.
b. Naut. Farther from the shore; seaward.
1666Lond. Gaz. No. 66/4 The Lilly Fregat,..then in the off-gage of her station, near this Coast. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. xii, Our men..were at work..on the off side. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 207 It was happy for us that our masts fell all over the off side. 1745Lond. Mag. 397 Whilst I had to do with this Ship, the largest of all got on my Off-Bow, put me between two Fires.
2. spec.
a. Of horses and vehicles: opposed to the near side, on which the driver walks, the rider mounts, and the passenger enters a vehicle. Hence off horse (of a pair), off foot, off lead, off leader, off leg, off ox (also fig., a clumsy or stubborn person), off wheel, off wheeler, etc. (Often hyphened.)
1675Lond. Gaz. No. 1002/4 A black stone Horse, four years old, roweld for a lameness behind on the off-side. 1708Ibid. No. 4477/4 His off-Knee is broke. 1721Ibid. No. 5929/3 His Off Foot behind white. 1764Museum Rusticum II. xiv. 52 To drive the cart so as the off-wheel should go in the same tract that the near wheel went in before. 1789Trans. Soc. Arts VII. 70 Enables the off-horse..to walk in the furrow. 1800Gentl. Mag. I. 167 The [Mamelûke] rider always mounts on the off side of the horse. 1807Balance (Hudson, N.Y.) 25 Aug. 267 (Th.), We behold a clumsy, awkward off ox trying the tricks of a kitten. 1823J. F. Cooper Pioneers I. iv. 51, I knew just the spot where to touch the off-leader. 1842Syd. Smith Let. Locking in on Railways Wks. 1859 II. 234/1, I know very well the danger of getting out on the off-side. 1848J. R. Lowell Biglow Papers 1st Ser. 90 Ez to the answerin' o' questions, I'm an off ox at bein' druv. 1849De Quincey Eng. Mailcoach Wks. 1862 IV. 339 With the haunch of our near leader we had struck the off-wheel. 1884E. L. Anderson Mod. Horsemanship i. ii. 8 The rider should practise mounting and dismounting upon the right or off side of the horse, as well as upon the usual side. 1887E. Custer Tenting on Plains xii. 354 The old reliability of a mule-team is the off-wheeler. 1890Kipling Barrack-Room Ballads (1892) 35 Two's off-lead 'e answered to the name o' Snarleyow. 1894Doyle Mem. S. Holmes 25 Silver Blaze with his white forehead and his mottled off fore leg. 1910J. Hart Vigilante Girl x. 140 An iron ‘jockey-stick’ ran from the near leader's hames to the off-leader's bit. 1915Dialect Notes IV. 209 My grandfather was always an off-ox. 1933Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 1 Apr. 4/3, I don't know him from Adam's (or God's) off-ox.
b. Cricket. Applied to that side of the wicket, or of the field, opposite to that on which the batsman stands (i.e. in the case of right-hand batting, the side on the right of the wicket-keeper); also of a ball or hit on this side, or a batsman who hits the ball in this direction; off-cutter, a cutter (see cutter n.1 5 b (b)) that turns from the off side.
1773in G. B. Buckley Fresh Light on 18th Cent. Cricket (1935) 61 Having run a considerable number of notches from off-strokes. 1816W. Lambert Instr. & Rules Cricket 31 Wide Bowling..should be directed at the off side of the wicket. 1836New Sporting Mag. July 195 Crossing the leg over at off-balls is another rule that I should like to see more men adopt. Ibid., The mode of handling the bat, for ‘On hitting’ must be similar to what is requisite for ‘Off hitting’. 1836E. Jesse Angler's Rambles 298 His off-hits between point and slip, were the admiration of the club. 1850‘Bat’ Crick. Man. 43 The long-stop is frequently obliged to cover many slips from the bat, both to the leg and off side. 1851J. Pycroft Cricket Field vii. 151 A good off-hitter should send the ball according to its pitch, not to one point only, but to three or four. 1854Ibid. (ed. 2) 117 A bat brought forward from the centre stump to a ball Off or to leg, must..form an angle sufficient to make Off or On hits. 1884I. Bligh in Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 3 Some of his far-pitched balls on the off side. 1885J. Lillywhite's Cricketers' Compan. 91 Mr. W. H. Woodhouse..a brilliant off-hitter. 1888A. G. Steel in Steel & Lyttelton Cricket iii. 183 Left-handed batsmen are notoriously strong and powerful in their off hitting. 1895H. G. Hutchinson P. Steele i. 28 This off-ball Peter..drove..so hard..that [etc.]. 1900P. F. Warner Cricket in Many Climes 182 Blanckenberg..made some very good off-side strokes. 1904F. C. Holland Cricket 9 Nearly all off strokes can be classed under one of the four principal hits—the off drive, the cut drive, the square cut, and the late cut. 1955Times 5 July 4/2 Singh..was making his off-cutters seem more sinister than one feels they really were. 1956R. Alston Test Commentary xiii. 114 Benaud packed the off⁓side. 1966[see cutter n.1 5 b].
c. off-verse [tr. G. Abvers]: the second half-line of a line of Old English verse. Cf. on-verse (on a. 1 b).
1935K. Malone in ELH II. 291 The chief function of alliteration in OE poetry is that of binding together the two halves (i.e. the on- and off-verses) of the so-called long line. 1953[see ictus 1]. 1953Speculum XXVIII. 451 In the on-verse position Béowulf 2795 has Wuldorcyninge and in the off-verse position eorþ-, héah- þéodcyninges, also Frís-cyninge, and sǽ-cyninga. 1963F. P. Magoun in Brown & Foote Early Eng. & Norse Stud. 134 These verses tend to be used as off-verses. 1970Rev. Eng. Stud. XXI. 134 The Anglo-Saxon poets apparently preferred beginning new clauses with the off-verse.
3. a. Lying off from, situated aside from, leading out of the main part. Cf. off prep. 7. See off- 4, in precisely the same sense.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour II. 201/1 The ‘off’ parts of St. Paul's Church-yard. Ibid. 423/2 Friar-street is one of the smaller off thoroughfares. 1897W. H. Thornton Remin. i. 10, I rode with him one day to his off farm..and bought my first horse.
b. off chance, off-chance, a contingency out of the probable course; a remote chance, a by-chance.
1861G. J. Whyte-Melville Good for Nothing I. 109 To be sure, there is the off-chance of a settlement by a violent death. 1875Times 2 July, It is always a very off-chance whether an officer..may in quiet times have the slightest opportunity of finding his abilities roughly tested. 1893Stevenson Beach of Falesá 144, I thought there was an off-chance he might go back on the whole idea.
4. a. Said of a day, evening, season, etc., when one is ‘off work’, or when the ordinary work, business, or course of affairs is suspended, or does not take place or occur. Also said of a shorter period of time to denote an interval of leisure or relaxation, and of a day, night, etc., when one does not feel fit or when one's performance is not up to the usual standard. The precise meaning depends on the context. Also transf. (Sometimes hyphened.)
1826F. Reynolds Life & Times I. iv. 151 On Mrs. Siddons's nights, Mr. Harris (being sure of an over-flow from Drury-lane,) only put up his weakest bills, reserving the strongest for his off nights. 1843Knickerbocker XXII. 325 After an ‘off night’ when I was allowed to stay in town. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair ix, It was with a team of these very horses, on an off-day, that Miss Sharp was brought to the Hall. 1875All Year Round 3 Apr. 23/1 That estimable lady..had arranged those meetings on the quiet off-evenings. 1876‘Mark Twain’ Old Times Mississippi 25 The ‘off-watch’ was just turning in, and I heard some brutal laughter from them. 1880M. E. Braddon Just as I am xxxv, Driving..to Blatchmardean on the off days. 1880Inter-Ocean (Chicago) 28 May 8/3 Peters had an ‘off’ day. 1882Garden 18 Mar. 182/1 Last year..being what we here call the ‘off year’ for Apples. 1897Manch. Guard. 16 Oct., That in future all such meetings be held on ‘off days’ in preference to ‘market days’. 1899J. Pennell in Fortn. Rev. LXV. 123 This has been an off, a profitless, year in practical cycle construction. 1905G. B. Shaw Let. 3 Jan. (1972) II. 487, I had quiet literary offnights at the New Shakespear Society under F. J. Furnival, and breezy literary offnights at the Browning Society. 1908Sketch 11 Sept. 340/2 Rhodes had an ‘off-day’ and could do nothing. 1913A. G. Bradley Other Days v. 161 On the rare off-days [we] raided such crows and magpies’ nests as we could find. 1928Weekly Dispatch 18 Mar. 2/4 He'd never have picked up that skill in the Lagos Lagoon in the few off-watches he'd get from a branch-boat. 1929Star 21 Aug. 5/2 It was certainly Elder's off-night. He was not feeling in the best of form. 1930F. E. Baily It won't do any Harm xiii. 260 You happened to ask me when I was in what I call an off-moment. 1932E. E. Reynolds Nansen i. 9. There was plenty of fun as well as hard work. One account of an off-hour is worth extracting as illustrating Nansen's geniality in whatever company he might find himself. 1946R. Lehmann Gipsy's Baby 28 She was having a bit of an off-day, unfortunately. 1959Manch. Guardian 24 July 4/2 Tolstoy or Balzac in an off-moment might be almost anyone. 1959T. Griffith Waist-High Culture (1960) 169 Such doubts arise in us all, at least on our off days. 1969Guardian 21 Aug. 3/6 On off-days he tends his private camellias and on off-nights listens to Mozart and The Three B's. 1974Melody Maker 13 Apr. 48 Everyone has their off nights and so the one who's feeling better helps the other one. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 17 Jan. 19/2 Dr. Moskowitz is passionate about reading, theater, music, and writing, which is her newest off-hours activity.
b. off year, in the U.S., a year in which there is a Congressional election but no Presidential election. Also attrib.
1873B. A. Hinsdale Let. 17 Oct. in Garfield-Hinsdale Lett. (1949) 247 About one half is lost because it is the ‘off year’ in politics. 1906N.Y. Even. Post 5 Nov. 4 In this off-year election. 1950Manch. Guardian Weekly 24 Aug. 15 A full-dress State election in an ‘off-year’, that is a year when there is no Presidential election. 1972Times 27 Dec. 5/7 Soon after he succeeded to the Presidency the Republicans, in the off-year elections of 1946, won both Houses of Congress.
5. In reference to the sale of excisable liquors: Short for ‘off the premises’: see off licence, off-sale.
6. Corresponding to or producing the state (of an electrical device) of being off (off adv. 4 b).
1899J. Pigg Railway ‘Block’ Signalling vii. 363 In the ‘off’ position of the signal arm the switch makes such contacts as passes a ‘holding down’ current from the battery at the local station. 1935D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night xvi. 327 The switch..stood in the ‘Off’ position, and she struck it down. 1960Practical Wireless XXXVI. 425/2 A two-pole toggle switch..could be used in the S1 position thus isolating the mains completely from the equipment when the switch is in the ‘off’ position. 1975L. Deighton Yesterday's Spy vii. 52 Schlegel bashed the ‘off’ button and the music ended with a loud click.
7. Physiol. Of, pertaining to, or exhibiting the electrical activity that occurs briefly in some optic nerve fibres in vertebrates when illumination of the retina ceases.
1903F. Gotch in Jrnl. Physiol. XXIX. 393 The third or terminal portion is a second rise due to the sudden change from light to darkness; this I propose for brevity to term the OFF effect. Ibid. 401 The rate of development of the OFF change. Ibid. 403 In no instance is the OFF delay greater than the ON. 1934Ibid. LXXXI. 26 The increase in P III and its rapid return at ‘off’ account for the increased off-effect of the light-adapted eye. 1941S. H. Bartley Vision xii. 287 The off-response first appears when the light flash is very short. 1948Jrnl. Physiol. CVII. 57 Of the 164 elements, 16% were pure on-elements, 5% pure off-elements, and 79% on-off-elements. Ibid., The on-sensitivity to blue (B-on) was taken as the fundamental sensitivity... For those elements which showed no on-effect the off-sensitivity to blue (B-off) was used. 1972H. Tamar Princ. Sensory Physiol. iv. 153/2 Some 5 per cent of all color-responsive ganglion cells seem really to have receptive fields with centers which are either ‘on’ or ‘off’ to one color.
D. n. [absolute or ellipt. uses of the adj.]
1. Naut. = offing.
1599Hakluyt Voy. I. 291 The shippe lay thwart to wende a flood, in the off, at the Southsoutheast moone.
2. The condition or fact of being off.
a1669Trapp in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxvi. 10, I have had my offs and my ons,..I have passed through several frames of heart and tempers of soul. 1895M. M. Dowie Gallia 119, I love to feel the on and off of the break and to watch the way the pole seems to feel its way through the traffic.
3. Cricket. = Off side: see C. 2 b. Hence Comb.: off-drive n. and v.; off-theory, a theory that favours concentrating the fielders on the off side and bowling the ball at or outside the off stump.
1836New Sporting Mag. XI. 193 Thus if the bat be brought forward in a straight line to meet the ball moving in the same line, the ball will be struck directly to the bowler. It is on this principle, that more to the on or off, so will it be returned, and according as it is bowled, more to his left or right. 1847[see break v. 32 b]. 1857Hughes Tom Brown ii. viii, Johnson the young bowler is getting wild, and bowls a ball almost wide to the off. 1881Standard 28 June 3/1 Whiting drove Studd to the off for four. 1883W. L. Murdoch in Longman's Mag. Jan. 292 At the present time, when bowlers place their men on the off side and bowl on what I might term the ‘off theory’, batsmen should be very careful what ball they hit at. 1894Daily News 23 Nov. 6/3 Steady cultivation of a break from the off is a better amusement than the premature affectation of being an Amphitryon. 1960H. S. Altham in A. Ross Cricketer's Compan. 292 The off-theory was being to some extent abandoned. 1975Cricketer May 14/2 Max Walker showed his ‘leg-cutter’ that snapped back from the off.
4. (See quot.)
1829[J. R. Best] Pers. & Lit. Mem. 257 To buy Lincolnshire hogs or offs, lambs taken off from their mothers.
5. The start of a race (cf. sense A. 1 e above); also transf., the start, the beginning; departure; a signal to start or depart. colloq.
1959Times 14 Sept. 3/1 Matthews broke once and on the second ‘off’ knocked down the first hurdle. 1963L. Meynell Virgin Luck vii. 174 The price shortened and just before the ‘off’ I noticed it was being offered at nine to two. 1966J. Porter Sour Cream xiv. 180 It was too late. The students nearest to him..thought this was the off. They began to move forward. 1968‘H. Calvin’ Miranda must Die iii. 34 ‘Time for off,’ he said... He was gone. 1973T. Allbeury Choice of Enemies xiii. 62 Jock..waited for someone to give him the off, and James said, ‘O.K. Jock, you just give us the general picture.’ 1973‘I. Drummond’ Jaws of Watchdog xviii. 240 How long before the off will they try to put the poison in? 1978Lancashire Life Apr. 50 (caption) Tangle-wrangle: Stan Lyons waits on the slipway for the ‘off’, while helpers sort-out the lines from his harness.
▪ II. off, v.
[Elliptical (chiefly colloq. or illiterate) uses of off adv., at length inflected as a vb.: cf. to in, to back.]
†1. trans. To put off; to defer. Obs.
1642Sir E. Dering Sp. on Relig. 96 The further debate of this was offed [printed ofted] to the next day.
2. intr. To go off, make off. (illiterate.) Also to off it, to depart; also (slang), to die. Cf. off adv. 9.
1889T. E. Brown Manx Witch 18 ‘And will you go linkin with me?’ says Jack... ‘I'm thinkin I'd better,’ says Nessy... And offs with him. 1890Punch 28 June 310/2 He found out after they'd off'd it that they didn't own a white mouse among 'em! 1895Westm. Gaz. 21 Sept. 2/1 He took down his hat, an' off'd. 1930J. Buchan Castle Gay iv. 72 He has probably offed it abroad. 1930Brophy & Partridge Songs & Slang 1914–18 143 Off it, to die. 1965Listener 27 May 797/2 He ups and offs from wife, job, kids.
3. Naut. Of a ship: To move off from shore. In pr. pple. offing.
1882Ogilvie (Annandale), We were offing at the time the accident happened.
4. trans. To take off, eat off, swallow. rare.
1887Browning Fust & Friends 76 Awaiting thy sign To out knife, off mouthful.
5. to off with, to take off instantly. (Cf. off adv. 9.) illiterate, or humorous colloq.
1892Daily News 23 Feb. 5/1 They offed with his head. 1895K. Grahame Golden Age 56 When the Queen said ‘Off with his head!’ she'd have offed with your head. 1895Pall Mall Mag. Sept. 111 ‘So then he offs with his diamond ring’.
6. To kill.
Recorded chiefly in Black English contexts in the U.S.
1968N. Giovanni Revolutionary Tale in Negro Digest June 77/1 The only way we can ever justify offing a brother is if we have already offed twenty whiteys. 1970Time 11 May 29 At the swamp, Alex was offed... Warren shot him first, Lonnie hit him a second time. 1970Time 2 Nov. 25/1 The Panthers' rhetoric is inflammatory and irresponsible, and it is impossible to say how many people take their ‘off the pig’ injunctions seriously. 1971Black Scholar Sept. 40/2 If they caught a bitch or dude fuckin' around with the honkies, they offed 'em. 1974R. B. Parker Godwulf Manuscript (U.S. ed.) iii. 18 There were various recommendations about pigs being offed scrawled on the sidewalk. 1977Time 31 Jan. 52/1 There is a contract out on him and he will be offed as sure as next morning's sunrise. |