off-the-cuff

[awf-thuh-kuhf, of-]

adjective

1. with little or no preparation; extemporaneous; impromptu.

   a speaker with a good off-the-cuff delivery.

Word History and Origins

Origin of off-the-cuff¹

First recorded in 1940–45

Idioms and Phrases

Impromptu, extemporaneous, as in His speech was entirely off the cuff. This term supposedly alludes to the practice of speakers making last-minute notes on the cuff of a shirtsleeve. [1930s]