jumping-off place

American  

[juhm-ping-awf, -of] / ˈdʒʌm pɪŋˈɔf, -ˈɒf /

noun

1. a place for use as a starting point.

   Paris was the jumping-off place for our tour of Europe.

2. an out-of-the-way place; the farthest limit of anything settled or civilized.

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jumping-off place British  

noun

1. a starting point, as in an enterprise

2. a final or extreme condition

3. a place where one leaves civilization to go into the wilderness

4. a very remote spot

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Etymology

Origin of jumping-off place

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30

Example Sentences

A book was a big jumping-off place for me.

From Los Angeles Times

Indeed, her husband, her parents and her career are the foundations of many stories, but “the real jumping-off place of the book is where I was let go from my job,” she explains.

From Los Angeles Times

The practice dates back to the Gold Rush, when the city’s powerful attraction as a jumping-off place for Forty-Niners seeking their fortunes in the nearby hills generated an equally potent counter-narrative.

From Los Angeles Times

This criteria as a jumping-off place naturally leads to a wildly diverse group of people.

From Los Angeles Times

“Rely on seasonal greenery as a jumping-off place,” she says.

From Washington Post