[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./
[oil] See: POUR OIL ON TROUBLED WATERS.
[oil the wheels] See: GREASE THE WHEELS.
[ointment] See: PLY IN THE OINTMENT.
[old] See: CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK, COMFORTABLE AS AN OLD SHOE, COMMON AS AN OLD SHOE, OF OLD.
[old as the hills]{adj. phr.} Very old; ancient. •/"Why didn’t you laugh?" she asked. "Because that joke is as old as the hills," he answered./
[old boy network]{n. phr.} A system whereby men who went to the same school help each other to get good jobs, regardless of their ability or training. •/Peter got his lucrative job thanks to the old boy network rather than because of his qualifications./ Compare: OLD COLLEGE TRY.
[old boy] or [old chap] {n.}, {Chiefly British} One of the men educated at the same institution and bound by strong ties of loyalty to each other. •/He got the job because the boss was another old boy./
[old college try]{n. phr.} An attempt to win a favor from another by mentioning the fact that one had gone to the same college or university as the party from whom the favor is requested. •/Since he needed a job, he decided to use the old college try when he contacted Jerry, but it didn’t work./ Compare: OLD BOY NETWORK.
[old country]{n. phr.} Primarily Europe, but also any country other than the United States where one originally came from. •/Al’s wife was born in Chicago but Al himself is from the old country, Ireland./
[old flame]{n. phr.} An erstwhile lover. •/Did you know that Meg was one of Howard’s old flames?/
[old guard]{n. phr.} People whose ideas may be out of date, but who have been in power for a long time. •/There will not be any change in policy at the company, as long as the old guard still works here./
[old hand]{n. phr.} An experienced and highly skilled expert at some particular job. •/Uncle Joe is an old hand at repairing car engines./
[old hat]{adj.}, {informal} Old-fashioned; not new or different. •/By now, putting satellites in orbit is old hat to space scientists./ •/Andrea thought her mother’s ideas about dating were old hat./
[old maid]{n. phr.} A spinster; a woman who has never married. •/Because my old maid aunt is a terrific cook as well as a good-looking woman, nobody understands why she never married./
[old money] Contrast: NEW MONEY.
[Old Nick] See: FULL OF THE OLD NICK.
[old school tie] See: OLD BOY NETWORK, OLD COLLEGE TRY.
[old story]{n.} An everyday occurrence; something that often happens. •/Jane’s temper tantrums were an old story./ •/It’s an old story when a woman divorces her husband for too much drinking./
[old-timer]{n.} An old person who remembers bygone days, matters, and personalities. •/There was an old-timer at the party who told us interesting details about World War II./ Contrast: OLD GUARD, OLD HAND.
[old world]{n. phr.} Europe, the continent; a continental manner. •/Tom had an old world manner that thoroughly charmed all the ladies./ Compare: OLD COUNTRY.
[olive branch]{n. phr.} An overture; a symbol of peace. •/Tired of the constant fighting, the majority government extended an olive branch to the militant minority./
[on account]{adv. phr.} As part payment of a debt; to lessen the amount owed. •/John paid $10 down and $5 on account each month for his bicycle./
[on account of]{prep.} As a result of; because of. •/The picnic was held in the gym on account of the rain./ Compare: ON ONE’S ACCOUNT, OF ONE’S OWN ACCORD.
[on a dime]{adv. phr.}, {informal} In a very small space. •/Bob can turn that car on a dime./ •/Tom says his new sports car will stop on a dime./
[on-again, off-again] See: OFF-AGAIN, ON-AGAIN.
[on air] See: WALK ON AIR.
[on a limb] See: OUT ON A LIMB.
[on all four] See: HIT ON ALL FOUR.
[on all fours]{adv. phr.} 1. On all four legs; on hands and knees. •/Fido sat up to "beg" but dropped down on all fours to eat the dog biscuit Sam gave him./ •/Billy’s father got down on all fours and gave the baby a ride./ 2. {informal} On a level of equality; of the same value. •/Wigs may be widely used, but they are still not on all fours with beautiful natural hair./
