[off feed] or [off one's feed] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Not feeling well; lacking in vitality; droopy; moody. * /Mary was worried; her canary was off feed./ * /Jerry seemed to be off his feed; he did not joke and laugh with the others./
[off (one/he/she/it) goes!] <v. phr.> Said of a person, a vehicle, or a memorable thing who/which has started leaving or moving, both as a statement of fact (declarative assertion) or as a command (imperative). * /When the boat hit the water in the formal launching ceremony, they cried out simultaneously, "Off she goes!"/
[off guard] <adj.> In a careless attitude; not alert to coming danger; not watching. * /In the second that the boxer was off guard, his opponent landed a knockout punch./ * /Timmy s question caught Jean off guard, and she told him the secret before she knew it./ Contrast: ON GUARD.
[offhand] <adj.> 1. Informal; casual; careless. * /Dick found Bob's offhand manner inappropriate for business./ 2. In an improvised fashion. * /Offhand, I would guess that at least five thousand people attended the festival./
[off in a flash] See: IN A FLASH.
[off-key] <adj.>, <informal> 1. Not proper; queer. * /When George told jokes at the funeral, everyone thought his action was off-key./ 2. In a false key. * /John always sings off-key./ Compare: OUT OF LINE.
[off limits] See: OUT OF BOUNDS.
[off one's back] <adj. phr.> 1. <informal> Stopped from bothering one; removed as an annoyance or pest. * /"Having a kid brother always following me is a nuisance," Mary told her mother. "Can't you get him off my back?"/ * /The singer was so popular with teenagers that he took a secret vacation, to keep them off his back./ Contrast: ON ONE'S BACK(2). See: GIVE THE SHIRT OFF ONE'S BACK.
[off one's chest] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Told to someone and so not bothering you anymore; not making you feel worried or upset, because you have talked about it. * /After Dave told the principal that he had cheated on the test, he was glad because it was off his chest./ * /Father felt that Tom wasn't helping enough around the house, so he got it off his chest by giving Tom a list of things to do./ Compare: MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF. Contrast: ON ONE'S CHEST.
[off one's feet] See: KNOCK OFF ONE'S FEET, SWEEP OFF ONE'S FEET.
[off one's hands] <adv. phr.> No longer in your care or possession. * /Ginny was glad to have the sick dog taken off her hands by the doctor./ Contrast: ON ONE'S HANDS.
[off one's head] <adj. phr.> Crazy; mad. * /We had no doubt that the old man was off his head when we saw him jumping into the lake with his winter coat on./
[off one's high horse] <adj. phr.>, <informal> 1. Not acting proud and scornful; humble and agreeable. * /The girls were so kind to Nancy after her mother died that she came down off her high horse and made friends with them./ 2. Acting friendly again; not angry and unpleasant any more; agreeable. * /Sally wouldn't speak to anyone all afternoon because she couldn't go to the movies, but she's off her high horse now./ Contrast: ON ONE'S HIGH HORSE.
[off one's nut] See: OFF ONE'S HEAD.
[off one's rocker] or [off one's trolley] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Not thinking correctly; crazy; silly; foolish. * /Tom is off his rocker if he thinks he can run faster than Bob can./ * /If you think you can learn to figure skate in one lesson, you're off your trolley./ Syn.: OUT OF ONE'S HEAD.
[off one's trolley] See: OFF ONE'S ROCKER.
[off season] See: LOW SEASON. Contrast: HIGH SEASON, ON SEASON.
[offshoot] <n.> A derivative; a side product. * /The discovery of nuclear reactors was ah offshoot of research in quantum physics./
[off the air] <adj. phr.> Not broadcasting; observing radio silence. * /The talk show is off the air on Wednesdays and Fridays./
[off the bat] See: RIGHT AWAY or RIGHT OFF THE BAT.
[off the beam] <adv.> or <adj. phr.> 1. (Of an airplane) Not in the radio beam that marks the path to follow between airports; flying in the wrong direction. * /A radio signal tells the pilot of an airplane when his plane is off the beam./ 2. <slang> Wrong; mistaken. * /Maud was off the beam when she said that the girls didn't like her./ Contrast: ON THE BEAM.
[off the beaten track] <adv. phr.> Not well known or often used; not gone to or seen by many people; unusual. * /The theater is off the beaten track./ * /We are looking for a vacation spot that is off the beaten track./ Compare: OUT OF THE WAY.
[off the cuff] <adv. phr.>, <informal> Without preparing ahead of time what you will, say; without preparation. * /Some presidents like to speak off the cuff to newspaper reporters but others prefer to think questions over and write their answers./
[off-the-cuff] <adj.>, <informal> Not prepared ahead of time. Used of a speech or remarks. * /Jack was made master of ceremonies because he was a good off-the-cuff speaker./
[off the ground] See: GET OFF THE GROUND.
[off the handle] See: FLY OFF THE HANDLE.
[off the hog] See: LIVE HIGH OFF THE HOG.
[off the hook] <adv. phr.> Out of trouble; out of an awkward or embarrassing situation. * /Thelma found she had made two dates for the same night; she asked Sally to get her off the hook by going out with one of the boys./
[off the record(1)] <adv. phr.> Confidentially. * /"Off the record," the boss said, "you will get a good raise for next year, but you'll have to wait for the official letter."/ Contrast: ON RECORD, GO ON RECORD, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
[off the record(2)] <adj. phr.> Not to be published or told; secret; confidential. * /The president told the reporters his remarks were strictly off the record./ - Sometimes used with hyphens, before the noun. * /The governor was angry when a newspaper printed his off-the-record comments./
[off the top of one's head] <adv.> or <adj. phr.>, <informal> Without thinking hard; quickly. * /Vin answered the teacher's question off the top of his head./ * /When Lorraine was asked to recite, she talked off the top of her head./
[off the wagon] <adj. phr.>, <slang> No longer refusing to drink whiskey or other alcoholic beverages; drinking liquor again, after stopping for a while. * /When a heavy drinker quits he must really quit. One little drink of whiskey is enough to drive him off the wagon./ Contrast: ON THE WAGON.
[off the wall] <adj. phr.> Strange; out of the ordinary; stupid. * /He has been making off-the-wall remarks all day; something must he the matter with him./
[of it] See: WHAT OF IT.
[of late] <adv. phr.>, <formal> In the recent past; not long ago; a short time ago; lately; recently. * /There have been too many high school dropouts of late./
[of necessity] <adv. phr.> Because there is no other way; because it must be; necessarily. * /Being a professional actor of necessity means working nights and Sundays./
[of no avail] See: TO NO AVAIL.
[of old(1)] <adj. phr.> Of ancient times; of long ago. * /Knights of old had to wear armor in battle./
[of old(2)] <adv. phr.> From earlier experience. * /You won't get any money from Freddie. I know him of old./
[of oneself] See: GIVE OF ONESELF.
[of one's life] <adj. phr.> The best or worst; greatest. - Usually describing a time or effort. * /At Disneyland, Tommy had the time of his life./ * /His race for the presidency was the political fight of his life./
[of one's own accord] or [of one's own free will] <adv. phr.> Without suggestion or help from anyone else; without being told; voluntarily. * /On her mother's birthday, Betsy did the dishes of her own accord./ * /But Johnny hates baths. I can't believe he would take one of his own free will./
[of one's own free will] See: OF ONE'S OWN ACCORD.
[of service] <adj. phr.> Valuable as a source of aid; helpful; useful. * /When a visitor seems lost or confused, the courteous student will ask "May I be of service?"/ * /A good jackknife is often of service to a camper./
[of sorts] or [of a sort] <adj. phr.> Not especially good; not very good; of common quality. * /Joel was a magician of sorts, and popular at parties./
[often] See: EVERY NOW AND THEN or EVERY SO OFTEN, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT.
[of die devil] See: SPEAK OF THE DEVIL AND HE APPEARS.
[of the first water] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Of the finest quality; superior; very good; best. * /The jeweler chose diamonds of the first water for the queen's crown./ * /The dance program at graduation was of the first water./ Compare: FIRST-CLASS.
[of the same mind] <adv. phr.> In agreement; in consonance. * /It is a good thing when father and son are of the same mind regarding business and politics./