{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./