off-the-wall
[ awf-thuh-wawl, of- ]
/ ˈɔf ðəˈwɔl, ˈɒf- /
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adjective Informal.
markedly unconventional; bizarre; oddball: an unpredictable, off-the-wall personality.
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Origin of off-the-wall
First recorded in 1970–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for off-the-wall
British Dictionary definitions for off-the-wall
off-the-wall
adjective
(off the wall when postpositive) slang new or unexpected in an unconventional or eccentric wayan off-the-wall approach to humour
Word Origin for off-the-wall
C20: possibly from the use of the phrase in handball and squash to describe a shot that is unexpected
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
Idioms and Phrases with off-the-wall
off the wall
Eccentric, unconventional, as in That idea of opening a 100-seat theater is off the wall. This expression probably originated in baseball or some other sport in which the ball can bounce off a wall in an erratic way. [Colloquial; 1960s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.