get off (one's) back

get off (one's) back

To stop bothering someone about something. Would you please get off my back? I'm not going to the interview, and that's final! My uncle has finally gotten off my back about helping him out at the hardware store, thank goodness.See also: back, get, off

get off someone's back

INFORMALIf you tell someone to get off your back, you mean that you want them to stop criticizing you and leave you alone. He kept on at me to such an extent that occasionally I wished he would get off my back. He wanted his mom to get off his back about marriage. Note: You can also say that you get someone off your back. I decided that I would get them off my back and out of my life. Compare with on someone's back.See also: back, get, off

get off somebody’s ˈback

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get somebody off your ˈback

(informal) stop annoying somebody, for example by telling them what to do or trying to force them to do something; make somebody stop annoying you in this way: I’ve done all that already, so why don’t you just get off my back? ♢ If you let the newspaper take a photo of you, that’ll get them off your back for a while.See also: back, get, off

get off someone’s back

and get off someone’s case in. to stop annoying someone. (Compare this with get on someone’s case.) I’ve had enough of you. Get off my back! Get off my case! You aren’t my mother. See also: back, get, off

get off my back

Stop nagging or pestering me. This slangy expression has been popular since the late 1930s, and its precise origin has been lost. It may have come from the older saying, to have a monkey on one’s back, which once meant to be angry or annoyed but since about 1930 has meant to be addicted to drugs. More likely “get off my back” alludes simply to a burden. As governor of California (1966–74), Ronald Reagan frequently used the term, saying we need to “get government off our backs.”See also: back, get, off