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off

created by nwman

(thing) by generic-man (4.8 mon) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Sat Jul 14 2001 at 17:15:54

When written in all capital letters (OFF), this is an acronym for Our Favorite Family, aka The Simpsons. It is often used by fans in alt.tv.simpsons or in the episode capsules at snpp.com. This is not obvious to anyone who left the USEnet alt.* hierarchy a long time ago, but the die-hard fans still use it constantly.

The most obvious reason behind the emergence of the "OFF" acronym: both the show's title and central characters bear the same name. Consider the sentence:

Tonight on The Simpsons, the Simpsons help Apu get his job back at the Kwik-E-Mart.

versus

Tonight on The Simpsons, OFF helps Apu get his job back at the Kwik-E-Mart.

See that? By using the acronym as a collective noun, we save eight bytes. You can save even more by using abbreviations like SLH for Santa's Little Helper, and so forth. In the end, you can shave milliseconds off the download time for an episode capsule, a boon for anyone downloading it over a 2400 bps satellite phone connection.


(idea) by enkidu (1 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Fri May 31 2002 at 15:06:59

He was a good guy, and a great employee. But then I caught him in bed with my pikachu, so I had to have him offed.

To "off" a person means to kill them. It is a slang term and implies that they were killed in a routinized gangster (not gangsta) fashion, rather than in self-defense or in a fit of passion. It is insultingly casual, and should never be used in a formal situation, or when you want to convey the least scrap of sensitivity.

Off is also the name of a popular brand of insect repellent, more properly rendered "Off!".

(thing) by sideways (1.8 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Wed Apr 30 2003 at 5:39:52

Motorsport euphemism for an accident of some description which involves going 'off' the track, but also applies to accidents occurring in everyday driving.

For example:

I had a little bit of an off the other day

might be said when what one actually meant was:

I slid sideways through the guardrail,
down the Darling Scarp,
lost all my teeth at the cruel hands of my steering wheel,
and will never walk again.
Could you wipe the soup off my chin please?

The term 'off' is not usually used to describe other types of accidents, and is rarely used in any form other than 'to have an off'.

HOWEVER Sasha Gabba Hey! says: off is also Aussie slang for getting really mad and yelling at someone: "to go off at him" etc. I was going to do another node but I can't be bothered.

I'm going to guess that this is to 'go off' in the same way a bomb might 'go off'.


(definition) by Webster 1913 (print) Wed Dec 22 1999 at 1:33:36

Off (?), adv. [OE. of, orig. the same word as R. of, prep., AS. of, adv. & prep. 194. See Of.]

In a general sense, denoting from or away from; as:

1.

Denoting distance or separation; as, the house is a mile off.

2.

Denoting the action of removing or separating; separation; as, to take off the hat or cloak; to cut off, to pare off, to clip off, to peel off, to tear off, to march off, to fly off, and the like.

3.

Denoting a leaving, abandonment, departure, abatement, interruption, or remission; as, the fever goes off; the pain goes off; the game is off; all bets are off.

4.

Denoting a different direction; not on or towards: away; as, to look off.

5.

Denoting opposition or negation.

[Obs.]

The questions no way touch upon puritanism, either off or on.
Bp. Sanderson.

From off, off from; off. "A live coal...taken with the tongs from off the altar." Is. vi. 6. -- Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) Naut. On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. -- To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a moment's warning. (b) To be abandoned, as an agreement or purpose; as, the bet was declared to be off. [Colloq.] -- To come off, To cut off, To fall off, To go off, etc. See under Come, Cut, Fall, Go, etc. -- To get off. (a) To utter; to discharge; as, to get off a joke. (b) To go away; to escape; as, to get off easily from a trial. [Colloq.] -- To take off, to mimic or personate. -- To tell off Mil., to divide and practice a regiment or company in the several formations, preparatory to marching to the general parade for field exercises. Farrow. -- To be well off, to be in good condition. -- To be ill off, To be badly off, to be in poor condition.

 

© Webster 1913.


Off (?), interj.

Away; begone; -- a command to depart.

 

© Webster 1913.


Off, prep.

Not on; away from; as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore.

Addison.

Off hand. See Offhand. -- Off side (Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. -- To be off color, to be of a wrong color. -- To be off one's food, to have no appetite. (Colloq.)

 

© Webster 1913.


Off, a.

1.

On the farther side; most distant; on the side of an animal or a team farthest from the driver when he is on foot; in the United States, the right side; as, the off horse or ox in a team, in distinction from the nigh or near horse or ox; the off leg.

2.

Designating a time when one is not strictly attentive to business or affairs, or is absent from his post, and, hence, a time when affairs are not urgent; as, he took an off day for fishing: an off year in politics.

"In the off season."

Thackeray.

Off side. (a) The right hand side in driving; the farther side. See Gee. (b) Cricket See Off, n.

 

© Webster 1913.


Off, n. Cricket

The side of the field that is on the right of the wicket keeper.

 

© Webster 1913.


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