on and offadv.adj.n.

Brit.

/ˌɒn ən(d) ˈɒf/, U.S.

/ˈɑn ən(d) ˈɔf/,

/ˈɔn ən(d) ˈɔf/,

/ˈɑn ən(d) ˈɑf/

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: on adv., and conj.¹, off adv.

Etymology: < on adv. + and conj.¹ + off adv. Compare earlier off and on adv.

A. adv.

1. = off and on adv. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > intermittently

by (formerly also at) startsc1422

startmeal?c1422

off and on1535

every otherwhile1542

by, or in, snatches1577

by fits and turns1583

by halves and fits1583

one time with another1591

fit-meal1593

by fits and spurts1605

planetarily?1609

scatteredly1612

startinglya1616

by snaps1631

intermittingly1654

from space to space1658

on and off1668

at (by) intervals1744

cessantly1746

by spells1788

fitfully1792

by fits and spasms1797

everylikea1800

intermittently1800

intermittedly1829

interjectionally1837

jerkily1839

at seasons1850

sporadically1852

parenthetically1860

spasmodically1877

snatchily1880

variously1892

1668 F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue II. Pref. 11 I have been now above twelve years, on and off, a professed Practitioner [of bookselling].

1691 T. Southerne Sir Anthony Love (end matter) 79 O! wou'd our peaceful days were come agen; Then I might act it, on and off, a Queen.

1795 M. P. Andrews & F. Reynolds Mysteries of Castle ii. v. 56 That fellow, and his friend Carlos, have been my torment these five years, on and off.

1859 Times 21 Mar. 11/4 The prosecutor stated that he had employed the prisoner on and off for nine years.

1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland vi. 80 I shall sit here..on and off, for days and days.

1892 Times (Weekly ed.) 21 Oct. 7/3 [He] had lived with her on and off since that time.

1939 W. Saroyan Peace, it's Wonderful 108 Working on trains, or leastaways near them, on and off most of my life since I was eighteen.

1966 Listener 13 Jan. 67/3 Vermeer was at Delft the whole time, and Steen was at Delft on and off in the sixteen-fifties.

1988 M. Chabon Myst. Pittsburgh xviii. 179 She cried on and off for the rest of the day.

2001 K. Sampson Outlaws (2002) 69 It's a downer and it does get to us on and off, depression and that.

2. Nautical. = off and on adv. 2. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [phrase] > away from and towards the shore

off and on1578

on and off1748

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. v. 175 Plying on and off till the 6th of October.

1938 Motor Boating Feb. 14/1 In 1910, I was a member of the crew of the two-masted schooner Sada... For five hours we stood on and off. I could see the lights of my own house and I was anxious to get home.

†3. When riding: by leaping on and then off an obstacle, rather than in a single jump (figurative in quot. 1855). Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1855 R. Browning Bishop Blougram 789 It shoots..Halfway into the next still, on and off!

1877 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunting Songs 104 They may jump on and off o'er the broken stone heap, In triangular fenders find timber to leap.

1881 E. D. Brickwood in Encycl. Brit. XII. 197/2 Hedges on banks..are usually of such a size as to make flying them impossible, or at least undesirable. Horses jump them on and off.

B. adj.

Now usually hyphenated. = off and on adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective]

unfastc888

unstathelfasteOE

unsteadfasta1200

fleeting?c1225

changeablea1275

ficklea1275

unstablec1290

waveringc1315

flickerc1325

loose in the haftc1325

motleyc1380

unsadc1384

variablea1387

variantc1386

ticklec1400

inconstant1402

flitting1413

brittle1420

plianta1425

mutablec1425

shittle1440

shittle-witted1448

moonishc1450

unconstant1483

unfirm1483

varying?a1500

pliablea1513

fluctuant1575

changeling1577

shittle-headed1580

cheverel1583

off and on1583

chameleon-like1589

changeful1590

limber1602

unsteady1604

ticklish1606

skittish1609

startling1619

labile1623

uncertaina1625

cheverelized1625

remuant1625

fluctuate1631

fluctuary1632

various1636

contrarious1643

epileptical1646

fluxilea1654

shittle-braineda1655

multivolent1656

totter-headed1662

on and off1668

self-inconsistent1678

weathercocka1680

whifflinga1680

versatile1682

veering1684

fast and loose1697

inconsistent1709

insteadfast1728

unfixing1810

unsteadied1814

chameleonic1821

labefact1874

ballastless1884

weathercocky1886

whiffle-minded1902

1668 J. Denham Poems I. 54 Amongst the Roar of these, and the mad shout Of a poor nothing understanding Rout, That think the On-and-Off-Peace now is true.

1859 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunting Songs (new ed.) 100 Which method best insures us from a fall, The Chester on-and-off step, or the Leicester, clearing all?

1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux II. xxxiv. 278 [The engagement] was off and on, and on and off, and he was in a most wretched condition.

1904 Westm. Gaz. 13 Jan. 2/3 The buyer resented this on-and-off policy.

1965 T. Capote In Cold Blood (1966) i. 4 She had been an on-and-off psychiatric patient the last half-dozen years.

1985 L. Blue Kitchen Blues 76 I am an on-and-off sort of semi-vegetarian.

1999 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 28 July (Midweek section) 3/4 His father does on and off woodwork to earn an income.

C. n.

A putting on and taking off; an instance of something being turned on and off; intermittent action. In quot. 1852: a fence to be jumped ‘on and off’ by a rider.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > temporarily inactive [phrase] > intermittent action

on and off1839

1839 H. F. Gould Poems II. 7 At length, the proud O'Donaghue Began to jeer and scoff, Because the cover must go through This putting on and off.

1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour i. iii. 12 They then made for a large field at the back of the house, with leaping-bars, hurdles, ‘on and offs’, ‘ins and outs’, all sorts of fancy leaps scattered about.

1895 M. 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.

1984 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 253 Attractive print blouse buttons at shoulder for convenient on and off.

1991 House Beautiful Kitchens/Baths Winter Insert 8/3 (advt.) New ballasts..give an almost instant on and off, so no more ‘fluorescent flicker’.

Derivatives

on-and-ˈoffish adj. colloquial rare liable to fluctuate in mood, health, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > disordered or out of sorts

out of estatec1400

disordainedc1430

out of order1530

mistempered?1541

untemperate1541

so-soa1592

indisposed1598

discomposed1603

out of sorts1621

disorderly1655

queerish1684

out of one's gears1699

disordered1708

uneasy1725

seedy1729

queer1749

scaly1803

quisby1807

under the weather1827

all nohow1852

toneless1854

nohowish1867

chippy1868

fishy1868

off-colour1876

dicky1883

on-and-offish1888

cheap1891

crook1916

lousy1933

the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical

startfulmood?a1300

wildc1350

volage?a1366

gerfulc1374

geryc1386

wild-headeda1400

skittishc1412

gerish1430

shittle1440

shittle-witted1448

runningc1449

volageous1487

glaikit1488

fantasious1490

giggish1523

tickle or light of the sear?1530

fantastical1531

wayward1531

wantona1538

peevish1539

light-headed1549

humoral1573

unstaid1579

shittle-headed1580

toy-headed1581

fangled1587

humorous1589

choiceful1591

toyish1598

tricksy1598

skip-brain1603

capricious1605

humoursome1607

planetary1607

vertiginous1609

whimsieda1625

ingiddied1628

whimsy1637

toysome1638

cocklec1640

mercurial1647

garish1650

maggoty1650

kicksey-winseya1652

freakish1653

humourish1653

planetic1653

whimsical1653

shittle-braineda1655

freaking1663

maggoty-headed1667

maggot-pated1681

hoity-toity1690

maggotish1693

maggot-headeda1695

whimsy-headed1699

fantasque1701

crotchetly1702

quixotic1718

volatile1719

holloweda1734

conundrumical1743

flighty1768

fly-away1775

dizzy1780

whimmy1785

shy1787

whimming1787

quirky1789

notional1791

tricksome1815

vagarish1819

freakful1820

faddy1824

moodish1827

mawky1837

erratic1841

rockety1843

quirkish1848

maggoty-pated1850

crotchetya1854

freaksome1854

faddish1855

vagrom1882

fantasied1883

vagarisome1883

on-and-offish1888

tricksical1889

freaky1891

hobby-horsical1893

quirksome1896

temperamental1907

up and down1960

untogether1969

fanciful-

fantastic-

1888 E. J. Goodman Too Curious xiii As well as she ever is. Rather on-and-offish.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	on and off
释义	on and offadv.adj.n. Brit. /ˌɒn ən(d) ˈɒf/, U.S. /ˈɑn ən(d) ˈɔf/, /ˈɔn ən(d) ˈɔf/, /ˈɑn ən(d) ˈɑf/ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: on adv., and conj.¹, off adv. Etymology: < on adv. + and conj.¹ + off adv. Compare earlier off and on adv. A. adv. 1. = off and on adv. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > intermittently by (formerly also at) startsc1422 startmeal?c1422 off and on1535 every otherwhile1542 by, or in, snatches1577 by fits and turns1583 by halves and fits1583 one time with another1591 fit-meal1593 by fits and spurts1605 planetarily?1609 scatteredly1612 startinglya1616 by snaps1631 intermittingly1654 from space to space1658 on and off1668 at (by) intervals1744 cessantly1746 by spells1788 fitfully1792 by fits and spasms1797 everylikea1800 intermittently1800 intermittedly1829 interjectionally1837 jerkily1839 at seasons1850 sporadically1852 parenthetically1860 spasmodically1877 snatchily1880 variously1892 1668 F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue II. Pref. 11 I have been now above twelve years, on and off, a professed Practitioner [of bookselling]. 1691 T. Southerne Sir Anthony Love (end matter) 79 O! wou'd our peaceful days were come agen; Then I might act it, on and off, a Queen. 1795 M. P. Andrews & F. Reynolds Mysteries of Castle ii. v. 56 That fellow, and his friend Carlos, have been my torment these five years, on and off. 1859 Times 21 Mar. 11/4 The prosecutor stated that he had employed the prisoner on and off for nine years. 1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adventures in Wonderland vi. 80 I shall sit here..on and off, for days and days. 1892 Times (Weekly ed.) 21 Oct. 7/3 [He] had lived with her on and off since that time. 1939 W. Saroyan Peace, it's Wonderful 108 Working on trains, or leastaways near them, on and off most of my life since I was eighteen. 1966 Listener 13 Jan. 67/3 Vermeer was at Delft the whole time, and Steen was at Delft on and off in the sixteen-fifties. 1988 M. Chabon Myst. Pittsburgh xviii. 179 She cried on and off for the rest of the day. 2001 K. Sampson Outlaws (2002) 69 It's a downer and it does get to us on and off, depression and that. 2. Nautical. = off and on adv. 2. Now rare. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > direct or manage ship [phrase] > away from and towards the shore off and on1578 on and off1748 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. v. 175 Plying on and off till the 6th of October. 1938 Motor Boating Feb. 14/1 In 1910, I was a member of the crew of the two-masted schooner Sada... For five hours we stood on and off. I could see the lights of my own house and I was anxious to get home. †3. When riding: by leaping on and then off an obstacle, rather than in a single jump (figurative in quot. 1855). Obsolete. ΚΠ 1855 R. Browning Bishop Blougram 789 It shoots..Halfway into the next still, on and off! 1877 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunting Songs 104 They may jump on and off o'er the broken stone heap, In triangular fenders find timber to leap. 1881 E. D. Brickwood in Encycl. Brit. XII. 197/2 Hedges on banks..are usually of such a size as to make flying them impossible, or at least undesirable. Horses jump them on and off. B. adj. Now usually hyphenated. = off and on adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] unfastc888 unstathelfasteOE unsteadfasta1200 fleeting?c1225 changeablea1275 ficklea1275 unstablec1290 waveringc1315 flickerc1325 loose in the haftc1325 motleyc1380 unsadc1384 variablea1387 variantc1386 ticklec1400 inconstant1402 flitting1413 brittle1420 plianta1425 mutablec1425 shittle1440 shittle-witted1448 moonishc1450 unconstant1483 unfirm1483 varying?a1500 pliablea1513 fluctuant1575 changeling1577 shittle-headed1580 cheverel1583 off and on1583 chameleon-like1589 changeful1590 limber1602 unsteady1604 ticklish1606 skittish1609 startling1619 labile1623 uncertaina1625 cheverelized1625 remuant1625 fluctuate1631 fluctuary1632 various1636 contrarious1643 epileptical1646 fluxilea1654 shittle-braineda1655 multivolent1656 totter-headed1662 on and off1668 self-inconsistent1678 weathercocka1680 whifflinga1680 versatile1682 veering1684 fast and loose1697 inconsistent1709 insteadfast1728 unfixing1810 unsteadied1814 chameleonic1821 labefact1874 ballastless1884 weathercocky1886 whiffle-minded1902 1668 J. Denham Poems I. 54 Amongst the Roar of these, and the mad shout Of a poor nothing understanding Rout, That think the On-and-Off-Peace now is true. 1859 R. E. Egerton-Warburton Hunting Songs (new ed.) 100 Which method best insures us from a fall, The Chester on-and-off step, or the Leicester, clearing all? 1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux II. xxxiv. 278 [The engagement] was off and on, and on and off, and he was in a most wretched condition. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 13 Jan. 2/3 The buyer resented this on-and-off policy. 1965 T. Capote In Cold Blood (1966) i. 4 She had been an on-and-off psychiatric patient the last half-dozen years. 1985 L. Blue Kitchen Blues 76 I am an on-and-off sort of semi-vegetarian. 1999 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 28 July (Midweek section) 3/4 His father does on and off woodwork to earn an income. C. n. A putting on and taking off; an instance of something being turned on and off; intermittent action. In quot. 1852: a fence to be jumped ‘on and off’ by a rider. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ceasing > temporary cessation of activity or operation > temporarily inactive [phrase] > intermittent action on and off1839 1839 H. F. Gould Poems II. 7 At length, the proud O'Donaghue Began to jeer and scoff, Because the cover must go through This putting on and off. 1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour i. iii. 12 They then made for a large field at the back of the house, with leaping-bars, hurdles, ‘on and offs’, ‘ins and outs’, all sorts of fancy leaps scattered about. 1895 M. 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. 1984 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 253 Attractive print blouse buttons at shoulder for convenient on and off. 1991 House Beautiful Kitchens/Baths Winter Insert 8/3 (advt.) New ballasts..give an almost instant on and off, so no more ‘fluorescent flicker’. Derivatives on-and-ˈoffish adj. colloquial rare liable to fluctuate in mood, health, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > [adjective] > in state of ill health or diseased > disordered or out of sorts out of estatec1400 disordainedc1430 out of order1530 mistempered?1541 untemperate1541 so-soa1592 indisposed1598 discomposed1603 out of sorts1621 disorderly1655 queerish1684 out of one's gears1699 disordered1708 uneasy1725 seedy1729 queer1749 scaly1803 quisby1807 under the weather1827 all nohow1852 toneless1854 nohowish1867 chippy1868 fishy1868 off-colour1876 dicky1883 on-and-offish1888 cheap1891 crook1916 lousy1933 the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [adjective] > capricious or whimsical startfulmood?a1300 wildc1350 volage?a1366 gerfulc1374 geryc1386 wild-headeda1400 skittishc1412 gerish1430 shittle1440 shittle-witted1448 runningc1449 volageous1487 glaikit1488 fantasious1490 giggish1523 tickle or light of the sear?1530 fantastical1531 wayward1531 wantona1538 peevish1539 light-headed1549 humoral1573 unstaid1579 shittle-headed1580 toy-headed1581 fangled1587 humorous1589 choiceful1591 toyish1598 tricksy1598 skip-brain1603 capricious1605 humoursome1607 planetary1607 vertiginous1609 whimsieda1625 ingiddied1628 whimsy1637 toysome1638 cocklec1640 mercurial1647 garish1650 maggoty1650 kicksey-winseya1652 freakish1653 humourish1653 planetic1653 whimsical1653 shittle-braineda1655 freaking1663 maggoty-headed1667 maggot-pated1681 hoity-toity1690 maggotish1693 maggot-headeda1695 whimsy-headed1699 fantasque1701 crotchetly1702 quixotic1718 volatile1719 holloweda1734 conundrumical1743 flighty1768 fly-away1775 dizzy1780 whimmy1785 shy1787 whimming1787 quirky1789 notional1791 tricksome1815 vagarish1819 freakful1820 faddy1824 moodish1827 mawky1837 erratic1841 rockety1843 quirkish1848 maggoty-pated1850 crotchetya1854 freaksome1854 faddish1855 vagrom1882 fantasied1883 vagarisome1883 on-and-offish1888 tricksical1889 freaky1891 hobby-horsical1893 quirksome1896 temperamental1907 up and down1960 untogether1969 fanciful- fantastic- 1888 E. J. Goodman Too Curious xiii As well as she ever is. Rather on-and-offish. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < adv.adj.n.1668
随便看	viscus vise vise grip vised viseed viseing viseite viselike visely visement visenage viser visern viserned vises visevase visgee visgy vishnu vishnuism vishnuite vishnuvite visibilia visibilities visibility