off-message

[awf-mes-ij, of‐]

adjective

straying from or contradicting the central theme or official message of a political, business, or other organization: The last speaker was way off-message with his bad jokes and irrelevant anecdotes.

Compare on-message.

Origin of off-message

An Americanism dating back to 1990–95; off + message

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

British Dictionary definitions for off message

off message

adjective

(off-message when prenominal) not adhering to or reflecting the official line of a political party, government, or other organization

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012