offstageadv.adj.
/ˌɒfˈsteɪdʒ/, /ˈɒfsteɪdʒ/, U.S. /ˈɔfˈsteɪdʒ/, /ˈɑfˈsteɪdʒ/ Theatre.
A. adv.
Off the stage; in a direction away from (the centre of) a stage. Hence: when not on stage; in private life. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adverb] > of subsidiary importance
accidentallya1398
accidentlya1460
accessorilyc1475
accidentarily1591
subordinately1608
accessarily1611
of the by1611
in (also with) subordination to1614
offstage1861
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adverb] > off stage
off1774
offstage1861
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > privacy > [adverb] > out of public view
out of the way1554
behind the curtain1677
in pectore1679
in petto1712
behind the scenes1841
in (or into, out of) purdah1912
offstage1959
1861 E. L. Blanchard Harlequin & House that Jack Built iii. 17 (stage direct.) Bootmaker is propelled..off stage, with Tailor.
1882 Ld. Tennyson Promise of May in Wks. (1907–8) i. 265 (stage direct.) Looking off stage.
1921 D. Parker in Life 8 Dec. 7/2 We strain to hold the thought that, off-stage, you [sc. Marjorie Rambeau] Are happy as the widely-mentioned lark.
1933 St. J. Ervine Theatre in my Time vii. 43 A player with a distinctive and adenoidal voice..made his first speech off-stage.
1959 J. Wain Travelling Woman viii. 110 The philosopher emptied one final shovelful of ashes into the bucket, carried it off to some unknown destination offstage, came back.
1967 J. M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour vii. 125 People do not work at their image-projection all the time; there is a difference between being ‘on-stage’ and ‘off-stage’; in the former, people feel under observation and are very concerned about the image they are projecting.
1974 M. Ayrton Midas Consequence vi. 163 Those cunning Greeks had all the action take place off stage with those ridiculous messengers popping in to describe what had happened somewhere else.
2001 Independent 10 July ii. 9/2 The aim being to keep stories about what she [sc. Madonna] does off stage out of the papers thus leaving the media no option but to concentrate on the actual performance.
B. adj.
That is not on a stage; not occupying or occurring on the stage; (hence) existing or taking place in an actor's private life. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > privacy > [adjective] > out of public view
behind-scene1841
behind the scenes1841
offstage1904
back room1941
backstage1950
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > stage > [adjective] > off-stage
offstage1904
1904 N.Y. Times 6 Oct. 9/5 After the show, when I went to wash up I found that somebody had stolen every blessed stitch of my off-stage wardrobe.
1922 Times Lit. Suppl. 12 Oct. 647/1 It is of no relevance to the story whether the apathy is produced by cocaine or Buddhism; the cause, whatever it is, is ‘off stage’, as it were.
1948 Times 17 Jan. 5/3 The off-stage noises of those who work to distract attention from what is really going on.
1961 J. McCabe Mr. Laurel & Mr. Hardy (1962) i. 31 If any of America's millions had seen the offstage Charles Spencer Chaplin of 1910, they might well [etc.].
1975 New Yorker 21 Apr. 103/3 The climax is the obligatory offstage pistol shot.
2001 Out Feb. 51/1 Transformation is the actor's task: exchanging the T-shirt and jeans of offstage life for..the Gucci and bronzer of a Hollywood movie.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.adj.1861