off 
8. Naut., to seaward of at short distance; op- 
posite or abreast of to seaward: as, the ship 
was off St. Luci;i. 
'['liu i-lfect of his [Sir Kenclm DiRhy's] guns in a sea- 
flght o/Hi'aildcr<Hin. /.</// Study Windows, p. 98. 
We wnv linalh h.srt, while trying t make a harbor 
In a pack of pancake and sludge Ice, a half mile of share. 
A. W. Onrly, Arctic Service, p. 101. 
4. Away from; with separation or removal 
from; so as no longer to be or rest on : as, to 
take a book off a shelf; he fell off his horse; 
my eye is never off him ; that care is off hie iniud : 
often ploouastically/row off. 
And nowe the kinge, with all his barons, 
Kose uppe/rom offe his seate. 
Sir Cauline (Child's Ballads, III. 189). 
The waters returned /row o^the earth. Gen. viii. 8. 
Others cut down branches o/f the trees. Mark xi. 8. 
The pears began to fall 
./Vow off the high tree with each freshening breeze. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 376. 
A raw, chilly wind, laden with moisture, was blowing 
off the water. The Century, XXXVII. 645. 
5. Deviating from, especially from what is 
normal or regular: as, off the mark; off the 
square; off the pitch (in music). 6. In a state 
of not being engaged in or occupied with: as, 
he is off duty to-day. 7. From: indicating 
source : as, I bought this book off him. [Colloq. 
or vulgar.] 8. Of: indicating material: as, to 
make a meal off fish : also pleouastically off of. 
What they consider good living is a dinner daily off "good 
block ornaments " (small nieces of meat, discoloured and 
dirty, but not tainted, usually set for sale on the butcher's 
block). .Miii/licit; London Labour and London Poor, I. 462. 
"I'll be eat if you dines of me," says Tom. 
"Yes, that," says I, "you 11 be." 
W. S. Gilbert, Yarn of the Nancy Bell. 
Off color, (a) Defective or of inferior value because of 
not having the right shade of color : said of precious stones, 
and also of objects of decorative art, as porcelain, (6) By 
extension, not of tile proper character ; not of the highest 
quality, reputation, etc. ; especially, equivocal or of doubt- 
ful morality, as a story or print [Colloq.] 
The few [pioneers] who, being of color in the East, found 
residence more convenient in newly settled towns. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 678. 
(e) Out of sorts; Indisposed. (Colloq.] Off its feet, in 
printing, said of composed type that does not stand square- 
ly on both feet, and consequently produces a one-sided im- 
pression. Off one's base, (a) In the wrong; mistaken. 
(6) Foolish; crazy. [Slang in both uses. } Offone'seggs, 
in the wrong; mistaken. [Slang.] Off one's feet, off 
one's legs, not supported on one's feet or legs, as in 
standing or walking; hence, not able to be moving or 
active. 
I ... was never of my leys, nor kept my chamber a day. 
Sir W. Temple. 
Off one's hands. See hand. 
What say you to a friend that would take this bitter bad 
bargain off your hands? 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, ii. 1. 
Off one's head. See head. Off the hinges. See hinye. 
off (of), a. and n. [< off, ado.} I. a. 1. More 
distant; further; hence, as applied to horses, 
oxen, etc., driven in pairs abreast (the driver's 
position being on the left of them), right ; right- 
hand : opposed to near or left-hand : as, the off 
side iu driving ; the off horse. 
The guard has assisted in the conference between the 
coachman and the hostler about the grey mare that hurt 
her off fore-leg last Tuesday. Dickens, Pickwick, xxviii. 
Fancy eight matched teams of glossy bays four horses 
to the team each "near" horse mounted by a rider who 
controlled his mate, the off horse ! 
Harper's Mag., LXXVI. 786. 
2. In cricket, on that side of the field which is 
to the left of the bowler: opposed to on. See 
diagram under cricket^. 3. Leading out of or 
away from a main line : applied to streets : as, we 
turned out of Oxford street into an off street. 
Mar-street is one of the smaller off thoroughfares. 
Mayhem, London Labour and London Poor, II. 479. 
4. Characterized by discontinuance or inter- 
ruption of that which is usual or normal ; not 
occupied with or devoted to the usual business 
or affairs: as, this is an off day; off time; an 
off year (in V. S. polities, a year in which no 
important elections take place). 
Such horses as Queen's Crawley possessed went to plough, 
or ran in the Trafalgar Coach ; and it was with a team of 
these very horses, on an off day, that Miss Sharp was 
brought to the Hall. Thackeray, Vanity Fair, ix. 
A vast apple-tree, whose trunk was some three feet 
through, and whose towering top was heavy, even in an 
o/-year for apples, with a mass of young fruit 
HoiceUs, Three Villages, Shirley. 
5. Away from the mark or right direction; 
mistaken! wrong: as, you are quite off in that 
matter. [Colloq.] 6. Conditioned; circum- 
stanced. In this sense of is peculiarly idiomatic, ire/I 
of, for example, meaning literally 'fully out,' namely, of 
hindering conditions; hence, 'well-conditioned': as, he is 
well o/; they found themselves worse o/than before. 
4089 
Marriage Is at present so much out of fashion that a lady 
is very well ofvrno can get any husband at all. 
Goldsmith, Citizen of the World, Ixxxvlil. 
The poor that is to say, the working-classes hare 
grown distinctly better of. 
W. Besant, Fifty Years Ago, p. 260. 
Poorly, very poorly of are our peasant* ! 
llarpeft May., LXXVIII. 377. 
II. n. It. Same as offing. 
The shippe lay thwart to wende a flood, in the of, at a 
Southsoutheast moone. Ualtluyt's Voyages, I. 291. 
2. In cricket, that part of the field to the bowl- 
er's left. 
Johnson, the young bowler, is getting wild, and bowls a 
ball almost wide to the "/. 
T. lluyhes, Tom Brown at Rugby, 11. 8. 
off (6f), inter/. [Exclamatory use of off, adv.] 
Away! depart! begone! 
Off (6f), v. i. [< off, adv.] Naut., to move off 
shore; steer from the land: said of a ship, and 
used only in the present participle : as, the ves- 
sel was offing at the time the accident happened. 
offa (of a), n. Same as affa. 
offal (of'al), n. and a. [Formerly also off-Jail; 
< ME. offal, fallen remnants, chips of wood, etc. 
(= D. afcal = G. abfall = Icel. Sw. a/all = Dan. 
affald, offal) ; < of, off, +/alfl, n.] T.n.l. That 
which falls off, as a chip or chips in dressing 
wood or stone ; that which is suffered to fall off 
as of little value or use. 
On the floores of the lower [oven) they lay the offals of 
flax, over those mats, and upon them their egges, at least 
sixe thousand in an oven. Sandys, Travalles, p. 98. 
Of gold the very smallest filings are precious, and our 
Blessed Saviour, when there was no want of provision, yet 
gave it in charge to his disciples the off-fall should not be 
lost. Sanderson, quoted In Trench's Select Glossary, 
[ed. 1887. 
That which the world offers in her best pleasures is but 
shells, offals, and parings. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. S88. 
Especially 2. Waste meat; the parts of a 
butchered animal which are rejected as unfit 
for use. 
A barrow of butcher's offal. Shak. , M. W. of W., 111. 5. 5. 
What in the butcher's trade is considered the offal of a 
bullock was explained by Mr. Deputy Hicks before the 
last Select Committee of the House of Commons on Smith- 
field Market: "The carcass," he said, "as it hangs clear of 
everything else, Is the carcass, and all else constitutes the 
offal." Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II. 9. 
3. Refuse of any kind; rubbish. 
To have right to deal in things sacred was accounted an 
argument of a noble and illustrious descent ; God would 
not accept the offals of other professions. South. 
His part of the harbor is the receptacle of all the ufful of 
the town. /;. Taylor, Lands of the Saracen, p. 47. 
4. In the fisheries: (a) Small fish of various 
kinds taken in seines among larger or more val- 
uable kinds, and thrown away or used for ma- 
nure, etc. [Chesapeake Bay and tributaries.] 
(6) Low-priced and inferior fish : distinguished 
from prime. Fish caught with the trawl aver- 
age one fourth prime and three fourths offal. 
II. a. Waste ; refuse : as, offal wood. 
Glean not in barren soil these offal ears, 
Sith reap thou may'st whole harvests of delight 
Southwell, Lewd Love is Loss. 
They commonly fat hogs with offnl corn. 
Mortimer, Husbandry. 
off-and-on (6f'and-on'), [< off and on, ad- 
verbial phrase : see under off'adv.] Occasional. 
The faithful dog, 
The of-and-on companion of my walk. 
Wordnmrth, Prelude, Iv. 
Off-bear (of'bar), v. t. In brickmaking, to carry 
off from the molding-table and place on the 
ground to dry. 
Others still [in pictures on tombs in Thebes] are off-bear- 
ing the bricks and laying them out on the ground to dry. 
C. T. Davis, Bricks and Tiles, p. 18. 
off-bearer (df'bar'er), n. In brickmaking, a 
workman employed to carry the bricks from 
the molding-table and lay them on the ground 
to dry. 
Each gang is composed of one moulder, one wheeler, 
and one boy called an of -bearer. 
C. T. Davis, Bricks and Tiles, p. 108. 
off-capt (6f'kap'), t: i. To take off the cap by 
way of obeisance or salutation. [Bare.] 
Three great ones of the city . . . 
Of-capp'd to him. Shak., Othello, i. 1. 10. 
offcast (6f'kast), n. That which is rejected as 
useless. 
The offcasts of all the professions doctors without pa- 
tients, lawyers without briefs. 
M. W. Savage, Reuben Medlicott (Davits.) 
off-come (6f'kum), . Apology; excuse; an 
escape in the way of subterfuge or pretext. 
[Scotch.] 
offender 
off-COIU (Wkorn i, n. Waste or inferior corn 
thrown out during dressing. 
>nrh nf-corn as comei'i give wife for hcrshare. Twuer. 
offcut (of'kul ). n. In printing: (a) Any excess 
of paper which is cut off the main sheet, (b) 
That part of a printed sheet which is cut from 
the main sheet and separately folded. In the 
ordinary half -sheet form of 12mo, paces 5, 0, 7, 
and 8 are iu the offcut of the half sheet of 
twelve pages. 
offence, offenceless, etc. See offense, etc. 
offend (o-fend'), v. [< ME. offenden, < OF. 
offcndre = Sp. ofender = Pg. offender = It. of- 
fenderc, offend, < L. offendfrc, thrust or strike 
against, come upon, stumble, blunder, commit 
an offense, displease, < ob, before, + OL. fen- 
dere, strike: see defend, fend 1 . "\ I. trans. It. 
To strike ; attack ; assail. 
We have power granted us to defend ourselves and of- 
fend our enemies, as well by sea as by land. 
Winthrop, Hiat New England, II. 366. 
He [the Spaniard] had a Macheat, or long Knife, where- 
with he kept them [the sailors] both from seizing him, 
they having nothing in their bands wherewith to defend 
themselves or offend him. Vampier, Voyages, I. 264. 
2t. To injure; harm; hurt. 
Who hath yow mlsboden or of ended f 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 51. 
Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond, 
Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud. 
S/u*.,M. of V.,iv. 1.140. 
3. To displease ; give offense or displeasure 
to; shock; annoy; pain; molest. 
The rankest compound of villanous smell that ever of- 
fended nostril. Shale., M. W. of W., UL 6. 98. 
A brother of ended is harder to be won than a strong city. 
Prov. xviii. 19. 
I acquaint you 
Aforehand, if you offend me, I must beat you. 
B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, L 2. 
4. To disobey or sin against (a person); trans- 
gress or violate (a law or right). 
Marry, Sir, he hath offended the law. 
Shale., M. for M., ill. 2. 16. 
She found she had offended (iod no doubt, 
So much was plain from what had happened since, 
Misfortune on misfortune. 
Browning, Ring and Book, ill. 182. 
5t. To cause to offend or transgress; lead into 
disobedience or evil. 
If thy right eye nfeml thee [causeth thee to stumble, 
hi the revised version], pluck it out Mat v. 28. 
Whoso shall offend [cause ... to stumble, in the re- 
vised version] one of these little ones which believe in me, 
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about 
his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the 
sea. Mat xviii. 6. 
= Syn. 3. To vex, chafe, irritate, provoke, nettle, fret, gall. 
U. intrans. If. To strike, attack, or assail 
one. 
In the morning and euening the cold doth offend more 
then it doth about noone tide. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 254. 
2. To disobey, violate, or transgress law, 
whether human or divine; commit a fault or 
crime; sin: sometimes with against. 
Nor yet against Otcsar have I offended anything at all. 
Acts xxv. 8. 
If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh 
while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend. 
1 Cor. viii. 13. 
In a free Commonwealth, the Governor or chief Coun- 
selor ofendiny may be remov'd and punish'd without the 
least Commotion. Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
St. To give offense or displeasure ; do anything 
displeasing, or calculated to cause dislike or 
anger. 
But lorde, what ayles the kyng at me? 
For vn-to hym I neuere ofende. 
York Plays, p. 140. 
offendant (o-fen'dant), M. [See offend.'} One 
who offends; an offender. Holland. 
If the offendant did consider the griefe and shame of 
punishment he would containe himselfe within the com* 
passe of a better course. 
Breton, Packet of Letters, p. 43. (Danes.) 
offender (o-fen'der), . One who offends; one 
who transgresses or violates a law, whether 
human or divine ; one who infringes rules and 
regulations ; one who acts contrary to the rights 
of others, or to social rule or custom ; one who 
displeases or annoys; one who gives offense, 
or incurs the dislike or resentment of another. 
My lords, let pale offenders pardon craue : 
If we offend, laws rigour let us haue. 
Ueywood, If you Know not Me, i. 
O love beyond degree ! 
Th' offended dies to set th' offender free. 
Quarles, Emblems, lii 10. 
She hugged the offender, and forgave the offence. 
Drydtn, Gym. and Iph., 1. 367. 
