pay-offn.
/ˈpeɪɒf/, U.S. /ˈpeɪˌɔf/, /ˈpeɪˌɑf/ I. Senses involving the payment of money.
1.
a. The act or an instance of discharging a debt or of paying money owed.In quot. 1864 used figuratively as a personification.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun]
satisfaction1398
acquittance?a1400
amortizement1439
financec1460
discharge1534
clearing1579
settlement1729
discharging1735
settling1761
liquidation1786
extinguishment1796
amortization1810
service1817
amortizing1840
extinction1845
clearance1858
pay-off1864
admortization1903
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. ii. 32 Twemlow received an invitation to dine at Veneerings, expressly to meet the Member, the Engineer, the Pay-off of the National Debt, the Poem on Shakespeare, the Grievance, and the Public Office.
1895 Times 20 Aug. 2/7 My last payment to the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty was £76—£50 of which was a pay off and the rest interest on borrowed capital.
1921 Times 20 Jan. 12/2 He witnessed the system of paying the men on one of the contracts and when the pay off was finished there were 30 sets of wages left over.
2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words (ed. 3) 56 Catastrophe bond, a debt security with a payoff tied to the relative severity of a natural disaster.
b. The act or an instance of paying and discharging an employee; a payment or other form of recompense made by an employer as compensation for redundancy or dismissal.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > compensation > [noun] > for termination of employment
pay-off1935
severance pay1953
silver handshake1958
golden handshake1959
lumpers1960
severance1965
1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders i. 19 Some are them are sayin' doon in the yard, boss,..that there'll mebbe be a big pay-off.
1968 Times 30 Aug. 20/4 Payoffs will take place week by week. Older and long service men are getting preference.
1982 R. Murdoch in Times 9 Feb. 2/7 But redundancies there have to be. For the alternative is no work for anyone and only the statutory minimum payoffs.
1992 New Republic 25 May 16/2 The multimillion-dollar payoffs to incompetent corporate executives.
2.
a. An amount of money paid to the winner of a bet; the paying of money won on a bet.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > [noun] > personal income or acquired wealth > derived from gaming or betting
stake1540
play money1700
winnings1716
win1891
pay-off1905
1905 F. Hutchison Philos. Johnnie the Gent 63 An' then there's the know-it-all-bloke that has just beat a couple of races, wit' about an ounce each way or maybe a deuce to peek. Oh, he's the wisest guy that ever give the pay-off gazebo the lofty leer when he reached for his dough.
1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock iv. i. 149 ‘I've won, Pinkie. A tenner.’... A young man with oiled hair stood on a wooden step paying out money... Spicer called out to him..: ‘Well, Sammy, now the pay-off.’
1964 A. Wykes Gambling vi. 142 If he throws a natural or crap,..the payoff odds will be considerably smaller.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 20/2 How about the $800 daily double payoff the track made one day on a bet that never was made. Is that not bookmaking?
1987 Flex Oct. 24/2 It was a little risky to change my peaking philosophy for the Night of the Champions, but the gamble had a big payoff.
b. Criminals' slang. A fraud or confidence trick in which the victim is encouraged by the success of a small bet, investment, etc., to gamble or venture a large sum which will then be lost.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [noun] > confidence trick > types of
drop-game1785
ring-dropping1788
drop1819
pigeon dropping1850
sawdust game1872
pay-off1915
short con1932
hot seat1933
pigeon drop1937
1915 G. Bronson-Howard God's Man iii. iii. 197 Specialists in check-raising, wireless wire-tapping, ‘the match’, ‘the pay-off’, and cards.
1935 Evening News 29 June 3/2 The sucker is induced to put a small sum into one venture. His winnings are promptly paid and he has visions. This is the ‘pay-off’.
1943 Police Jrnl. Mar. 69 Pay off, a confidence trick—Stock Exchange fraud.
c. The return on an investment of money; profit; (also) the point at which an investment begins to yield profit.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > income, revenue, or profit > profit > [noun] > return from capital or investment
return on capital1776
pay-off1955
payback1959
1955 Times 5 Aug. 9/7 Countries which entered on the first stage would be relying on the second stage for their ‘pay off’.
1969 Daily Tel. 11 Mar. 6/1 Profits in the past two years have been held back by the Woolco development and the pay-off here still could be a long way away.
1978 N.Y. Times 30 Mar. d5/3 The payoff in high-technology fields is extraordinarily great.
1991 A. Noble in C. Bondi New Applic. Math. iii. 72 A choice between A and C will depend..on the pay-off relative to the amount of money to be invested.
3. Criminals' slang.
a. The proceeds of a fraud, robbery, or other criminal operation; the payment of shares of such proceeds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > [noun] > dividing and sharing out > of booty or spoil
butingc1600
pay-off1927
1927 C. F. Coe Me—Gangster 196 We can use him in the pay-off.
1931 G. Irwin Amer. Tramp & Underworld Slang 141 Pay off, the division of spoils after a robbery.
1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 86/2 Pay off joint, place where the plunder (loot) is divided.
1948 S. J. Perelman Westward Ha! x. 123 I promptly whacked up my share of the pay-off.
b. A person responsible for sharing out the proceeds of a fraud, robbery, or other criminal operation; a confidence trickster; = payoff man n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster
magsman1822
confidence man1849
con artist1878
con man1889
T.B.1912
payoff man1927
pay-off1928
samfie1929
1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May 281 I have been a badger, pay-off, note-layer, creep, panel, and blackmailer.
1931 Amer. Speech 7 112 Pay-off, n. 1. The time to divide the loot or profit on a deal. ‘Thursday's the pay-off, or we'll know the why-for.’ 2. A confidence man. ‘Watch him, he's a pay-off.’
4. A bribe; the paying of bribes. Also: an amount paid as a bribe.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [noun] > bribe
gift1382
handy-dandyc1390
pricec1400
bud1436
bribe?a1439
golden (also silver) keyc1450
fee1549
golden shower1589
oil of angels1592
sugar-plum1608
bribera1616
palm oil1625
greasinga1661
sop1665
sweetbreada1670
vail1687
douceur1739
sweetener1741
bonus1759
buckshee1773
smear-gelt1785
grease1823
boodle?1856
soap1860
ice1887
palm-grease1897
poultice1902
fix1929
dropsy1930
pay-off1930
drop1931
oil1935
squeeze-pidgin1946
sling1948
bung1958
back-hander1960
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [noun] > bribe > bribery
meedc1275
corruptionc1425
bribing?c1524
suborning?1532
bribery1560
budding1640
subornation1670
palmistry1828
palm-greasing1832
boodling1886
a greasing of palms1889
sugaring1891
fix1929
pay-off1930
schmear1950
long leg1967
1930 (title of film) The big payoff.
1935 D. Lamson We who are about to Die xi. 193 Witnesses, juries, pay-off, fixin's—don't matter what it is... There ain't nothin' he won't do, long as you got the potatoes.
1958 S. Ellin Eighth Circle (1959) ii. iii. 44 I never took a penny of pay-off money since I got into the Department.
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel xii. 219 Money for everything you've been through—a piddling wee payoff to close our mouths?
1990 C. R. Johnson Middle Passage (1991) i. 4 Everyone talked ethics piously, then took payoffs under the table.
II. Extended uses.
5.
a. The outcome, result, or conclusion of an action, policy, occurrence, etc.; the benefit which follows from a course of action, investment, etc.In a positive sense: the best or most desirable outcome; the eventual reward for something difficult or painful. In a negative sense: retribution for something; the settling of a score.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > [noun] > a conclusion or end
finea1300
head1340
conclusion1382
close1399
finishmentc1400
issue1479
pass1542
tittle est Amen1568
wind-up1573
wind-up-all1573
upshot1586
catastrophe1609
come-off1640
period1713
pay-off1926
the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [noun] > outcome or that which results
issuea1325
outcominga1382
conclusionc1384
endc1385
fruita1400
finec1405
termination?a1425
sumc1430
succession1514
sequel1524
game1530
success1537
event1539
pass1542
increase1560
outgate1568
exit1570
cropc1575
utmosta1586
upshoot1598
sequence1600
upshot1604
resultance1616
upshut1620
succedenta1633
apotelesm1636
come-off1640
conclude1643
prosult1647
offcome1666
resultant1692
outlet1710
period1713
outcome1788
outrun1801
outcome1808
upset1821
overcome1822
upping1828
summary1831
outgo1870
upcomec1874
out-turn1881
end-product1923
pay-off1926
wash-up1961
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > conclusion or final result
conclusionc1384
uttermost1470
summa summarum1567
loose1589
conclude1643
period1713
outcome1788
pay-off1926
1926 J. Conway in Variety 29 Dec. 5 On Broadway it [sc. slang] was the pay-off, for we all speak and think it.
1927 Vanity Fair Nov. 67/2 Conway's ‘That's the pay off!’ is swiftly making the rounds. It is employed when one enthusiastically describes anything that is first-rate: the acme, the last word!
1937 N. Coward Present Indicative vii. 295 I had..lived far too strenuously. This [sc. a nervous breakdown] was the pay-off.
1956 Times 4 July 10/1 He..described the trouble in the motor car industry as the pay-off for the Government's policy toward it.
1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 156 All that they have offered in the name of generosity and altruism has been part of an assumed transaction, in which they were entitled to a certain payoff.
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel xii. 199 There was nothing to be gained from beating the hell out of this foul-mouthed creep... The pay off could wait.
1977 Time 28 Feb. 8/2 Danish Premier Anker Jørgensen wagered his political future in January and last week collected the payoff.
1991 ACE Bull. Mar.–Apr. 4/2 Partnership..will have beneficial pay-offs for the school's reputation.
b. The ultimate; the crucial factor; the final straw.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > [noun] > fact or condition of being completed
perfection?c1225
final1582
consummation1604
ultimate1681
consummativeness1701
finish1801
pay-off1937
1937 Sun (Baltimore) 4 Aug. 14/1 The white-hulled defender isn't as impressive out of the water as the polished blue challenger but that isn't the payoff in this million-dollar sport.
1957 S. J. Perelman Road to Miltown 73 Brother, I've heard some dillies in my day, but that's the payoff... What a yock this'll give the mob at Sardi's!
1958 K. Amis I like it Here 200 He'd carried on in the same sort of way before, explaining he was part of the history of the English novel and all the rest of it, but this was really the pay-off.
c. The climax or dénouement of a narrative; the point or crux of a joke, humorous anecdote, etc. See also payoff line n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > plot > dénouement
untying1598
unravelling1606
discovery1668
unravelment1705
dénouement1752
resolution1846
pay-off1947
1947 P. G. Wodehouse Full Moon vii. 141 A raconteur of established reputation expects something better than silence when he comes to the pay-off of one of his best stories.
1962 W. Nowottny Lang. Poets Use iv. 96 Marvell's poem has its ‘pay-off’ in the ambiguity of the da capo with which the poem comes to a conclusion.
1980 T. Brooke-Taylor et al. I'm Sorry I haven't Clue 30 In this round I'm going to give each team the pay-off of a story.
1995 New Musical Express 28 Oct. 34/3 Smith originally intended to kill off Dante with a climactic robbery, but the pay-off he finally chose is far more effective.
d. Mathematics, Psychology, etc. In game theory: the expected benefit or utility to a participant of a particular action or strategy.
ΚΠ
1949 R. Bellman & D. Blackwell in Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 35 603 The payoff to player I, i.e., the expected outcome for fixed pure strategies of I and II, is then [formula].
1960 T. C. Schelling Strategy of Conflict iv. 105 A randomized strategy..is a means of expunging from the game all details except the mathematical structure of the payoff.
1986 Evolution 40 165 Natural selection would not favor such a strategy, with increased survival to the next reproductive season as the only compensatory gain, since the payoff..can at most be one clutch in the ensuing year in return for the clutch that is sacrificed.
2000 B. S. Low Why Sex Matters ix. 150 The perverse result is that rational players defect, getting one point each, when, had they only cooperated, they could have gotten 3—but the large payoff is possible only if each player were to cooperate.
Compounds
payoff line n. the punchline or dénouement of a joke, story, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > jest or pleasantry > a jest or joke > punchline
tag line1926
boffo1934
payoff line1934
zinger1970
1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) i. 16 And they always knew when to laugh, even when it was a Catholic joke, because Reilly signalled the pay-off line by slapping his leg just before it was delivered.
1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being (1945) 80 The pay-off lines of limericks in which The weak resentful bar-fly shows his sting.
1995 Empire Nov. 128/3 This straight-to-video schlocker stars Stella Stevens as a zombie gran dispatching her unpleasant progeny while cackling ever feebler pay-off lines.
payoff man n. Criminals' slang (a) a person responsible for sharing out the proceeds of a fraud, robbery, or other criminal operation, or for making payments to accomplices; (b) a confidence trickster.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > [noun] > one who has charge of or manages money > one who has charge of cash > of gang of criminals
payoff man1927
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > defrauder or swindler > [noun] > confidence trickster
magsman1822
confidence man1849
con artist1878
con man1889
T.B.1912
payoff man1927
pay-off1928
samfie1929
1927 Fresno (Calif.) Bee 9 June 1/3 The complaint asserts that Justice of the Peace Murphy was introduced to Frank E. Howell, former deputy sheriff, who was alleged to have been the ‘pay-off’ man of the contractors.
1928 M. C. Sharpe Chicago May 286 Pay-off men,..confidence men (or women).
1938 D. Castle Do your Own Time 287 Pay-off Man, cashier of a mob.
1964 Hispanic Amer. Hist. Rev. 44 200 Soares..performed the function of pay-off man, furnishing 50,000 cruzeiros for the performance of the crime.
1998 Tri-State Defender (Nexis) 19 Aug. 1 a Toarmina is the alleged pay-off man in the alleged jobs-for-hire scheme.
payoff matrix n. Mathematics Psychology etc., (in game theory) an array specifying the utilities to the players of all the possible outcomes of a game, conflict, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > array > other
magic square1704
Pascal's triangle1886
tensor1916
payoff matrix1950
payoff table1960
1950 Econometrica 18 189 The two-person zero–sum game with the m+1 by n+1 pay-off matrix.
1976 Nature 8 Apr. 481/1 He..assigned payoffs for winning, losing, getting injured in an escalated fight and so on, and used these values to construct a payoff matrix for each strategy against all others.
1990 Taxation & Environmental Policy Comm. No. 19. (Inst. Fiscal Stud.) 5 There are several responses to the global warming sceptics: the first is the pay-off matrix approach of e.g. Costanza (1989)—if the ‘optimists’ are right, no policy response is called for.
payoff table n. Mathematics Psychology etc. = payoff matrix n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > array > other
magic square1704
Pascal's triangle1886
tensor1916
payoff matrix1950
payoff table1960
1960 Jrnl. Business 33 26/2 Go back to the pay-off table. For each event (row), locate the most favorable act (column).
1995 S. S. Komorita & A. L. Ellis in D. A. Schroeder Social Dilemmas ii. 16 Table 2.1 shows a payoff table for an eight-person game with linear payoff functions of equal slope.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1864