[of a piece] <adj. phr.> Of the same kind; in line. - Usually used with "with". * /His quitting the job is of a piece with his dropping out of school./

[of course] <adv. phr.> 1. As you would expect; naturally. * /Bob hit Herman, and Herman hit him back, of course./ * /The rain came pouring down, and of course the track meet was canceled./ 2. Without a doubt; certainly; surely. * /Of course you know that girl; she's in your class./

[off a duck's back] See: LIKE WATER OFF A DUCK'S BACK

[off-again, on-again] or [on-again, off-again] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Not settled; changeable; uncertain. * /John and Susan had an off-again, on-again romance./ * /I don't like this off-again, on-again business. Are we going to have the party or not?/

[off and on] also [on and off] <adv.> Not regularly; occasionally; sometimes. * /Joan wrote to a pen pal in England off and on for several years./ * /It rained off and on all day./ - Sometimes used with hyphens like an adjective. * /A worn-out cord may make a hearing aid work in an off-and-on way./ Compare: BY FITS AND STARTS, FROM TIME TO TIME, NOW AND THEN.

[off balance] <adj. phr.> 1. Not in balance; not able to stand up straight and not fall; not able to keep from turning over or falling; unsteady. * /Never stand up in a canoe; it will get off balance and turn over./ * /Paul was speeding along on his bicycle, when an unexpected hole in the road caught him off balance and he fell over./ 2. Not prepared; not ready; unable to meet something unexpected. * /Our quarterback kept the other team off balance by changing often from line plays to passes and tricky end runs./ * /The teacher's surprise test caught the class off balance, and nearly everyone got a poor mark./

[off base] <adj. phr.>, <informal> Not agreeing with fact; wrong. * /The idea that touching a toad causes warts is off base./ * /When Tom said that the teacher's explanation did not agree with the book, the teacher was embarrassed at being caught off base./

[offbeat] <adj.>, <informal> Nonconventional; different from the usual; odd. * /Linguistics used to be an offbeat field, but nowadays every self-respecting university has a linguistics department./

[off center] <adv. phr.> Not exactly in the middle. * /Mary hung the picture off center, because it was more interesting that way./

[off-center] <adj.>, <informal> Different from the usual pattern; not quite like most others; odd. * /Roger's sense of humor was a bit off-center./ Compare: OFF-KEY.

[off-color] or [off-colored] <adj.> 1. Not of the proper hue or shade; not matching a standard color sample. * /The librarian complained that the painter had used an off-color green on the walls./ 2. <informal> Not of the proper kind for polite society; in bad taste; dirty. * /When Joe finished his off-color story, no one was pleased./

[off day] <n. phr.> A period when one is not functioning at his or her best; a period of weakness. * /The champion was obviously having an off day; otherwise she would have been able to defeat her opponent./ Contrast: DAY OFF.

[off duty] <adj.> Not supposed to be at work; having free time; not working. * /Sailors like to go sight-seeing, when they are off duty in a foreign port./ * /It seems that all the taxis in New York are off duty whenever it rains./ - Often used with hyphens, before a noun. * /The bank robber was captured by an off-duty policeman./ Contrast: ON DUTY.

[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./

[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.

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