Wordie: Off: Comments

Comment by sarra, 3 months ago

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:43:58 +0000

Ah, here. This one (among many, many others):

go off […] To start into sudden action; to break into a fit of laughter, extravagance of language, irrelevant or unintelligible discourse, etc. (emphasis mine)

Comment by sarra, 3 months ago

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:08:45 +0000

Ohhhhh. Now I'm stumped as to how to explain/justify “go off” in that sense. But I have had a wonderful time considering all possible meanings of off.

Comment by whichbe, 3 months ago

Tue, 13 May 2008 22:38:33 +0000

A contranym: it means both off *and* on (e.g., "the alarm went off").

Comment by bilby, 9 months ago

Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:47:40 +0000

Cricket jargon - the side of the field closest away from batsman's body.