off-dutyadv.n.adj.

1776 G. Washington Gen. Orders 9 Mar. in Writings (1931) IV. 385 The General earnestly expects every Officer and Soldier of this Army will shew the utmost alertness, as well upon duty, as off duty.

1799 tr. A. von Kotzebue Writing-desk iv. vii. 106 In the evening, when off duty, I will hire myself to work through the night.

1852 W. M. Thackeray Henry Esmond ii. ii When off duty..Captain Dick often came to console his friends.

1895 Westm. Gaz. 2 Dec. 7/1 One o'clock in the morning, at which hour the ‘point’ policeman outside the house goes off duty.

1917 ‘Taffrail’ Sub viii. §2. 204 ‘The Bloke’ was an inveterate smoker. I never remember seeing him off duty without a ‘gum-bucket’, as he called it, in his mouth.

1964 M. Banton Policeman in Community ii. 15 He ‘parades’ at the beat box where he meets the constable coming off duty.

1988 W. White Beautiful Room is Empty (1989) v. 123 Fortunately Gerald, the doorman, had gone off duty and the lobby was unattended.

1999 Guardian 25 Sept. (Weekend Suppl.) 13/2 She is a natural at cheerifying her bad experiences in anecdotal form, off-duty as well as on.

1844 C. J. Lever Tom Burke I. xl. 291 Nor was the officer of rank thought less of, because in the hours of off-duty he mixed freely with those who had been his companions through life, and talked with them as brothers.

1937 D. L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon vii. 153 I like to do a bit o' reading in my off-duty.

1968 K. O'Hara Bird-cage xxii. 180 Maureen took her off-duty in the morning.

1986 S. M. Hinchliff Teaching Clin. Nursing (ed. 2) 76 Off-duty may need to be adjusted to allow for the teaching commitment.

1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xcvii. 474 The Pequod's forecastle, where the off duty watch were sleeping.

1903 ‘G. Thorne’ When it was Dark iii. v. 352 The ship..wore a somewhat neglected, ‘off-duty’ aspect.

1904 Daily Chron. 23 Dec. 4/4 The off-duty policeman.

1946 Nature 9 Nov. 646/2 To provide facilities for adults to educate themselves in their off-duty hours.

1962 R. P. Jhabvala Get Ready for Battle iv. 173 Joginder yawned, the luxurious off-duty yawn of a hardworking man.

1973 W. J. Burley Death in Salubrious Place i. 14 As on other off-duty Sundays, at twelve o'clock Matthew went into the Seymour Arms.

2001 Daily Tel. 6 Aug. 12/6 A van driven by a drunken off-duty police officer hit and killed a pregnant woman, her four-year-old son and her teenage sister.