off-color
[awf-kuhl-er, of-]
- not having the usual or standard color: an off-color gem.
- of doubtful propriety or taste; risqué: an off-color joke.
- not in one's usual health: to feel off-color.
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Also especially British, off-col·our.Also off-col·ored (for defs 1, 2).
Origin of off-color
First recorded in 1855–60
Synonyms
See more synonyms for off-color on Thesaurus.com2. racy, spicy, salty, earthy, blue.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for off-color
Contemporary Examples
Their job is to fire you up, whether via jaw-dropping sports highlight or off-color pronouncement.
Meanwhile, Farage has been slammed for his own off-color remarks about Romanians.
The n-word might out of bounds, but an off-color comment, racial in tone?
Over his long career, Rush Limbaugh has suffered astonishingly little blowback for off-color remarks.
But this is what Edwards has been relegated to: a morbid curiosity, a cautionary tale, a punchline to off-color jokes.
Historical Examples
He tried to tell me an off-color story and forgot the point of it, if indeed it had any point.
Europe RevisedIrvin S. Cobb
Take away these off-color peaches and bring me something first class.
Jupiter LightsConstance Fenimore Woolson
They were off-color eyes, like amber or a light wine, fringed with long black lashes.
LegacyJames H Schmitz
The painted stone may be detected by washing it with alcohol, when the dye will be removed and the off-color will become apparent.
A Text-Book of Precious Stones for Jewelers and the Gem-Loving PublicFrank Bertram Wade
A thing to be forgotten always is the off-color story with which some people persist in polluting the atmosphere.
The Book of CourageJohn Thomson Faris
Word Origin and History for off-color
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper