have it off | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

9414 entries found.

1958, intransitive, "go away," chiefly British; the transitive meaning "annoy (someone)" is by 1968, chiefly U.S.; from piss (v.) + off (adv.). Pissed off "angry, fed up" is attested by 1946 (Partridge says 1937); said to have been used in the military in World War II; in common use from 1970s.

know-it-all (n.)

"one deemed (over)full of information or correct answers," 1895, from verbal phrase; see know (v.). Earlier in the same sense was know-all (1862); and Mr. Know-All was a minor character in Bunyan's "The Holy War" (1682).

go-it-alone (adj.)

attested by 1953 (in reference to U.S. foreign policy proposals), from an American English verbal phrase attested by 1842 and meaning "do anything without assistance." Go it as colloquial for "to act" (especially in a determined or vigorous way) is from 1825; hence also American English go it blind (1842) in reference to something done without regard for consequences.

off-putting (adj.)

1570s, "procrastinating," from the verbal phrase; see off (adv.) + put (v.). Meaning "creating an unfavorable impression" is attested by 1894. To put off is attested from late 14c. as "defer, postpone, delay;" 1560s as "dismiss by an evasion;" 1610s as "divert from one's purpose." As a noun, put-off in the sense of "an excuse for evasion or delay" is attested from 1540s.

stand-off (n.)

also stand-off, 1843, "draw, tie," from the verbal phrase (c. 1600), from stand (v.) + off (adv.). Mexican stand-off "stalemate" is recorded from 1891.

off-shore (adv., adj.)

also offshore, 1720, "in a direction away from the shore," from off (prep.) + shore (n.). As an adjective in 19c., "carried on more than three miles from shore." American English use for "other than the U.S." is from 1948 and the Marshall Plan.

get off (v.)

"escape," c. 1600, from get (v.) + off (adv.). Sexual sense attested by 1973.

go off (v.)

1570s, of firearms, etc., "explode, be discharged;" see go (v.) + off (adv.); meaning "depart" is c. 1600; that of "deteriorate in condition" is from 1690s; that of "reprimand" is from 1941 (originally with at, since c. 2000 more often with on).

off-site (adj.)

"occurring away from a site," 1956, from off (prep.) + site (n.).

off-chance (n.)

"a remote chance," 1861, from off (prep.) + chance (n.).

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