[obey the call of nature] See: ANSWER THE CALL OF NATURE.
[occasion] See: ON OCCASION.
[occupy oneself]{v. phr.} To make oneself busy with. •/Havingretired from business, he now occupies himself with his stamp collection./
[oddball]{n.}, {slang}, {informal} An eccentric person; onewho doesn’t act like everyone else. •/John is an oddball — he never invitesanyone./
[odd jobs]{n. phr.} Work that is not steady or regular in nature;small, isolated tasks. •/Dan does odd jobs for his neighbors, barely makingenough to eat./
[odds] See: BY ALL ODDS.
[odds and ends]{n. phr.} Miscellaneous items; remnants. •/After thegreat annual clearance sale there were only a few odds and ends left in thestore./
[odds are against]{v. phr.} The likelihood of success is not probable;the chances of success are poor. •/The odds are against her getting herebefore Monday./
[odds-on]{adj.}, {informal} Almost certain; almost sure; probable.•/Ed is the odds-on choice for class president, because he has good sense andgood humor./
[of age]{adj. phr.} 1a. Old enough to be allowed to do or managesomething. •/Mary will be of driving age on her next birthday./ Contrast:OVER AGE, UNDER AGE. 1b. Old enough to vote; having the privileges ofadulthood. •/The age at which one is considered of age to vote, or of age tobuy alcoholic drinks, or of age to be prosecuted as an adult, varies within theUnited States./ 2. Fully developed; mature. •/Education for the foreignborn came of age when bilingual education was accepted as a necessary part ofthe public school system./
[of a piece]{adj. phr.} Of the same kind; in line. — Usually usedwith "with". •/His quitting the job is of a piece with his dropping out ofschool./
[of course]{adv. phr.} 1. As you would expect; naturally. •/Bob hitHerman, 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 anoff-again, on-again romance./ •/I don’t like this off-again, on-againbusiness. 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 severalyears./ •/It rained off and on all day./ — Sometimes used with hyphenslike an adjective. •/A worn-out cord may make a hearing aid work in anoff-and-on way./ Compare: BY FITS AND STARTS, FROM TIME TO TIME, NOW ANDTHEN.
[off balance]{adj. phr.} 1. Not in balance; not able to stand upstraight 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 roadcaught him off balance and he fell over./ 2. Not prepared; not ready; unableto meet something unexpected. •/Our quarterback kept the other team offbalance by changing often from line plays to passes and tricky end runs./•/The teacher’s surprise test caught the class off balance, and nearlyeveryone 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 Tomsaid that the teacher’s explanation did not agree with the book, the teacherwas embarrassed at being caught off base./
[offbeat]{adj.}, {informal} Nonconventional; different from theusual; odd. •/Linguistics used to be an offbeat field, but nowadays everyself-respecting university has a linguistics department./
[off center]{adv. phr.} Not exactly in the middle. •/Mary hung thepicture 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 bitoff-center./ Compare: OFF-KEY.
[off-color] or [off-colored]{adj.} 1. Not of the proper hue orshade; not matching a standard color sample. •/The librarian complained thatthe painter had used an off-color green on the walls./ 2. {informal} Notof the proper kind for polite society; in bad taste; dirty. •/When Joefinished his off-color story, no one was pleased./
[off day]{n. phr.} A period when one is not functioning at his or herbest; a period of weakness. •/The champion was obviously having an off day;otherwise she would have been able to defeat her opponent./ Contrast: DAYOFF.
[off duty]{adj.} Not supposed to be at work; having free time; notworking. •/Sailors like to go sight-seeing, when they are off duty in aforeign port./ •/It seems that all the taxis in New York are off dutywhenever it rains./ — Often used with hyphens, before a noun. •/The bankrobber was captured by an off-duty policeman./ Contrast: ON DUTY.
[off feed] or [off one’s feed]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Notfeeling well; lacking in vitality; droopy; moody. •/Mary was worried; hercanary was off feed./ •/Jerry seemed to be off his feed; he did not jokeand laugh with the others./
[off (one/he/she/it) goes!]{v. phr.} Said of a person, a vehicle, or amemorable thing who/which has started leaving or moving, both as a statement offact (declarative assertion) or as a command (imperative). •/When the boathit 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 opponentlanded a knockout punch./ •/Timmy s question caught Jean off guard, and shetold him the secret before she knew it./ Contrast: ON GUARD.
[offhand]{adj.} 1. Informal; casual; careless. •/Dick found Bob’soffhand manner inappropriate for business./ 2. In an improvised fashion.•/Offhand, I would guess that at least five thousand people attended thefestival./
[off in a flash] See: IN A FLASH.
[off-key]{adj.}, {informal} 1. Not proper; queer. •/When Georgetold jokes at the funeral, everyone thought his action was off-key./ 2. In afalse 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 botheringone; removed as an annoyance or pest. •/"Having a kid brother alwaysfollowing me is a nuisance," Mary told her mother. "Can’t you get him off myback?"/ •/The singer was so popular with teenagers that he took a secretvacation, to keep them off his back./ Contrast: ON ONE’S BACK(2). See: GIVETHE SHIRT OFF ONE’S BACK.
[off one’s chest]{adj. phr.}, {informal} Told to someone and sonot bothering you anymore; not making you feel worried or upset, because youhave talked about it. •/After Dave told the principal that he had cheated onthe test, he was glad because it was off his chest./ •/Father felt that Tomwasn’t helping enough around the house, so he got it off his chest by givingTom a list of things to do./ Compare: MAKE A CLEAN BREAST OF. Contrast: ONONE’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 theold man was off his head when we saw him jumping into the lake with his wintercoat on./
[off one’s high horse]{adj. phr.}, {informal} 1. Not acting proudand scornful; humble and agreeable. •/The girls were so kind to Nancy afterher mother died that she came down off her high horse and made friends withthem./ 2. Acting friendly again; not angry and unpleasant any more;agreeable. •/Sally wouldn’t speak to anyone all afternoon because shecouldn’t go to the movies, but she’s off her high horse now./ Contrast: ONONE’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 offhis rocker if he thinks he can run faster than Bob can./ •/If you think youcan learn to figure skate in one lesson, you’re off your trolley./ Syn.: OUTOF 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 ofnuclear 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 theradio beam that marks the path to follow between airports; flying in the wrong