off-the-cuff
[awf-th uh-kuhf, of-]
- with little or no preparation; extemporaneous; impromptu: a speaker with a good off-the-cuff delivery.
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Origin of off-the-cuff
First recorded in 1940–45
cuff
1[kuhf]
- a fold or band serving as a trimming or finish for the bottom of a sleeve.
- a turned-up fold, as at the bottom of a trouser leg.
- the part of a gauntlet or long glove that extends over the wrist.
- a separate or detachable band or piece of fabric worn about the wrist, inside or outside of the sleeve.
- an elasticized, ribbed, or reinforced band at the top of a sock or stocking.
- a band of leather or other material, wider than a collar, sewed around the outside of the top of a shoe or boot to serve as a trimming or finish.
- a handcuff.
- Anatomy. a bandlike muscle or group of muscles encircling a body part.
- Furniture. a horizontal strip of veneer used as an ornament on a leg.
- Medicine/Medical. an inflatable wrap placed around the upper arm and used in conjunction with a device for recording blood pressure.
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- to make a cuff or cuffs on: to cuff a pair of trousers.
- to put handcuffs on.
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- off the cuff, Informal.
- extemporaneously; on the spur of the moment.
- unofficially or informally: I'm telling you this strictly off the cuff.
- on the cuff, Slang.
- with the promise of future payment; on credit.
- without charge; with no payment expected: He enjoyed his meal the more because it was on the cuff.
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Origin of cuff
11350–1400; Middle English cuffe mitten; perhaps akin to Old English cuffie cap < Medieval Latin cuphia coif1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for off the cuff
ad-lib, extemporaneous, improvised, spontaneous, unpremeditated, unprepared, unrehearsed, spur-of-the-moment, winged, improv, off-hand, unscripted, extemporaneously, impromptu, makeshift, offhandcuff
1- the part of a sleeve nearest the hand, sometimes turned back and decorative
- the part of a gauntlet or glove that extends past the wrist
- US, Canadian and Australian the turned-up fold at the bottom of some trouser legsAlso called (in eg Britain): turn-up
- off the cuff informal improvised; extemporary
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See also cuffs
Word Origin for cuff
C14 cuffe glove, of obscure origin
cuff
2- (tr) to strike with an open hand
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- a blow of this kind
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Word Origin for cuff
C16: of obscure origin
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
Word Origin and History for off the cuff
cuff
"bottom of a sleeve," mid-14c., cuffe "hand covering, mitten, glove," perhaps somehow from Medieval Latin cuffia "head covering," of uncertain origin. Sense of "band around the sleeve" is first attested 1520s; sense of "hem of trousers" is 1911. Off the cuff "extemporaneously" is 1938 American English colloquial, suggesting an actor or speaker reading from notes jotted on his shirt sleeves rather than learned lines. Cuff links is from 1897.
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cuff
"hit," 1520s, of unknown origin, perhaps from Swedish kuffa "to thrust, push." Related: Cuffed; cuffing. As a noun from 1560s.
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cuff
"to put a cuff on," 1690s, from cuff (n.). Related: Cuffed; cuffing.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cuff
(kŭf)- A bandlike structure encircling a part.
- An inflatable band, usually wrapped around the upper arm, that is used along with a sphygmomanometer in measuring arterial blood pressure.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with off the cuff
off the cuff
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]
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cuff
see off the cuff; on the cuff.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.