get off
get off
Meaning
- to leave a place in order to start a journey
- to leave work, with permission
- to avoid punishment for something that was done
- to be upset that someone has acted in a particular way
- to enjoy something; usually used in conjunction with “on” (used in a crude manner)
- fall asleep, particularly after some trouble (British version)
Example Sentences
- If we get off before five o’clock the traffic will not be as bad.
- We would like to leave by mid-day. What time can you get off work on Friday?
- I cannot believe that he was able to get off without any jail time after he was caught driving drunk.
- Where does he get off talking about me behind my back? He doesn’t even know me.
- She gets off on seeing other people miserable.
As a slang “Get off” is used in many other versions around the world. How do you use it? Please share your thoughts in comments below.
Origin
It is thought that they phrase may have its origin in a streetcar driver inquiring where someone would like to disembark. There is no definitive origin for the idiom.
One of the first examples of the idiom being used in the context of a question “Where do you get off” was recorded in January 1913. It can be found in “The Diary of a New York Policeman,” in McClure’s Magazine.
“Where do you get off,” he roared after me – it was perhaps his mildest utterance – “to go givin’ me a talk? …”
It was also recorded in the song “Personality” by Eva Tanguay” in The Philistine (March 1911)
“Actors on the bill say: “Mercy I where does she get off? …”
Synonyms
- dismount
- descend
- get down
- escape punishment
- be acquitted
- be vindicated
- be declared/found innocent
- be exculpated
- be absolved
- be exonerated
- be cleared
Share your opinions