<B>offish, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Informal.) inclined to keep aloof; distant and reserved in manner; standoffish. noun <B>offishness.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="offisland">
<B>off-island, </B>noun, adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> an offshore island. <BR> <I>Ex. The off-islands may seem to be just across the nautical street but the journey can still be an experience on a rough day (Sunday Times).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> (U.S.) visiting ortemporarily residing on an island; being an off-islander. <DD><I>adv. </I> away from an island. <BR> <I>Ex. One islander ... planned to go off-island (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offislander">
<B>off-islander, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) a temporary or seasonal resident of an island. </DL>
<A NAME="offkey">
<B>off-key, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not in the right musical key; not in harmony; discordant. <BR> <I>Ex. Her voice slightly off-key, was that of the Parisian street hawkers (New Yorker).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>somewhat improper; inconsistent; rash. <BR> <I>Ex. An irreverent, off-key assault on an assortment of sacred cows (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offlicence">
<B>off-licence</B> or <B>off-license, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British.) <DD><B> 1. </B>a license for the sale by the bottle of alcoholic liquor for consumption off the premises. <BR> <I>Ex. A number of off-licences had been granted to Pakistanis in the city, but this was the first on-licence (London Times).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>an establishment with an off-licence; package store. <BR> <I>Ex. On the way home I called at the off-licence to collect six large tonics, a bottle of vodka, and a bottle of brandy (Patrick Campbell).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offlimits">
<B>off-limits, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> not to be entered; out of bounds. <BR> <I>Ex. ... the entire control area would remain off-limits until official notices were published lifting restrictions (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offline">
<B>off-line, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj. </I> <B>1a. </B>(of equipment associated with an electronic computer) operating outside of direct control by the central equipment. <BR> <I>Ex. The first of the three computers is an "off-line" machine that is used for production planning. It receives orders for specific sizes, amounts and types of steel, and groups them according to quantity and composition (Fred Wheeler).</I> <DD><B> b. </B>not operating in real-time. <DD><B> 2. </B>(of a railroad operation or other service) being outside of the area served by the line. <DD><I>adv. </I> <B>1. </B>outside the direct control of central equipment. <BR> <I>Ex. These tapes have to be coordinated and analyzed by a Mercury or Atlas computer working off-line (New Scientist).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>not in line with an actual process or operation; not in real-time. </DL>
<A NAME="offload">
<B>off-load, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>to unload or discharge a cargo. <DD><B> 2. </B>to dispose of; unload; sell. <BR> <I>Ex. The Government is also thought to be planning to off-load its 49 per cent holding in British Telecom (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offmike">
<B>off-mike, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not heard clearly through the microphone. <BR> <I>Ex. Jane herself was distinctly off-mike some of the time (one turned up the volume control, only to have to turn it down lest Rochester blasted one's head off) (Listener).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>while not engaged in broadcasting; off the air. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a B.B.C. radio actress who is famed as a kindly district nurse on the airwaves but is a sadistic, cigar-smoking old horror off-mike (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offoffbroadway">
<B>off-off-Broadway, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the part of the New York City professional theater producing low-budget and often highly experimental plays that would not be presented in Broadway and off-Broadway theaters. <BR> <I>Ex. Off-off Broadway is completely outside the union because it never takes place in a "real" theatre; instead, off-off Broadway uses cafes, rooms, lofts, churches (Manchester Guardian Weekly).</I> <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with off-off-Broadway; being outside the Broadway and off-Broadway theatrical centers in New York City. </DL>
<A NAME="offpeak">
<B>off-peak, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>less than what is usual or possible as a maximum. <BR> <I>Ex. off-peak production.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>characterized by reduced demand or output. <BR> <I>Ex. an off-peak season.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offprice">
<B>off-price, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD> (U.S.) <DD><I>adj. </I> offering merchandise below the retail price suggested by manufacturers. <DD><I>adv. </I> at a price lower than that suggested by manufacturers. <BR> <I>Ex. Mr. Syms, whose business is buying and selling merchandise off-price ("we are not discounters"), said that his personal exposure has helped the business (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offprint">
<B>offprint, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> a separate reprint of an article, story, or other short segment, originally printed as a part of a magazine or book; printed excerpt. <DD><I>v.t. </I> to reprint separately or as an excerpt. </DL>
<B>off-putting, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> (British Informal.) disconcerting; annoying; discouraging. <BR> <I>Ex. Inspection is a bad word; it is politically off-putting (London Guardian).</I> adv. <B>off-puttingly.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="offroad">
<B>off-road, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>off or away from highways and paved roads. <BR> <I>Ex. off-road recreational driving.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>of or for off-road traveling. <BR> <I>Ex. an off-road vehicle.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offsaddle">
<B>offsaddle, </B>transitive verb, intransitive verb, <B>-dled,</B> <B>-dling.</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (in South Africa) to take the saddle off (a horse), as at a halt in a journey. </DL>
<A NAME="offsale">
<B>off-sale, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the sale of alcoholic liquor for consumption off the premises. </DL>
<B>offscreen, </B>adjective, adverb.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>not seen on the motion picture or television screen. <BR> <I>Ex. an offscreen voice or commentary.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>while not acting for motion pictures or television. <BR> <I>Ex. Japanese actors, offscreen, are less excitable than American actors (New Yorker).</I> </DL>
<B>off-season, </B>noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> the period when something is out of season; the slack season, as of a business or sport. <DD><I>adj. </I> in or for the off-season. <BR> <I>Ex. off-season hotel rates.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offset">
<B>offset, </B>verb, <B>-set,</B> <B>-setting,</B> noun, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>v.t. </I> <B>1. </B>to make up for; compensate for. <BR> <I>Ex. The better roads offset the greater distance.</I> (SYN) counterbalance, neutralize. <DD><B> 2. </B>to balance (one thing) by another as an equivalent. <BR> <I>Ex. We offset the greater distance by the better roads.</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to set off or balance. <BR> <I>Ex. I had offset a trip to the mountains against a summer job.</I> <DD><B> 4a. </B>to make offsets or setoffs in (as a wall). <DD><B> b. </B>to furnish (a pipe or bar) with an offset or offsets. <DD><B> 5. </B>(Printing.) to make an offset of. <DD><I>v.i. </I> to form or make an offset or offsets. <DD><I>noun </I> <B>1. </B>something which makes up for something else; compensation. <BR> <I>Ex. In football, his speed and cleverness were an offset to his small size.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>a short side shoot from a main stem or root that starts a new plant, as in the houseleek or date palm. <DD><B> 3. </B>any offshoot. <DD><B> 4. </B>(Printing.) <DD><B> a. </B>a process in which the inked impression is first made on a rubber roller and then on the paper, instead of directly on the paper. <DD><B> b. </B>the impression thus made. <DD><B> c. </B>the transfer or blotting of an impression onto another sheet because the ink is still wet. <DD><B> 5. </B>a short distance measured perpendicularly from the main line in surveying. <DD><B> 6. </B>(Architecture.) a ledge formed on a wall by lessening its thickness above; setoff. <DD><B> 7. </B>an abrupt bend in a pipe or bar to carry it past something in the way. <DD><B> 8. </B>a minor branch of a mountain range; spur. <DD><B> 9. </B>(Electricity.) a conductor going out from a principal conductor. <DD><I>adj. </I> of or having to do with offset. <BR> <I>Ex. The local printer makes offset plates directly from the film (Time).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offshoot">
<B>offshoot, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>a shoot from the main stem of a plant; branch. <BR> <I>Ex. One of the offshoots of the trunk fell from high in the tree under the weight of the snow.</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(Figurative:) <BR> <I>Ex. an offshoot of a mountain range. The nation's annual spending for road construction ... is obviously a direct offshoot of the swelling auto population (Newsweek).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offshore">
<B>offshore, </B>adverb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>off or away from the shore. <BR> <I>Ex. The wind was blowing offshore (adv.). We saw offshore oil wells along the coast (adj.).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>(U.S.) outside the United States; foreign. <BR> <I>Ex. Offshore procurements are American purchases of airplanes, tanks, ammunition and other munitions in European countries (Wall Street Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="offshorebar">
<B>offshore bar,</B> =barrier beach.</DL>
<A NAME="offside">
<B>offside</B> or <B>off-side, </B>adjective, adverb, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>adj., adv. </I> not on the side permitted by the rules; illegally in advance of the ball, puck, or other playing piece. <DD><I>noun </I> a play in football or other sport, that is offside. </DL>
<A NAME="offsider">
<B>offsider, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in Australia) a person who assists another; helper. </DL>
<A NAME="offspin">
<B>off-spin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Cricket.) a spin that results in an off break. </DL>
<A NAME="offspinner">
<B>off-spinner, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (Cricket.) <DD><B> 1. </B><B>=off break.</B> <DD><B> 2. </B>a bowler who specializes in off breaks. </DL>
