Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for off the hook. Search instead for off+the+hook.
Synonyms

off the hook

Idioms  

  1. Also,. Released (or be released) from blame or annoying obligation, as in He was out of town during the robbery so he was off the book, or I don't know how the muggers got off the hook, or Once they found the real culprit, they let Mary off the hook. This idiom alludes to the fish that manages to free itself from the angler's hook and get away. [Mid-1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Was there someone who ... was powerful who let him off the hook, and I just thought it was a good time to take a new look at it like a cold case detective would.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

He wants to see proof that the DOJ was given inaccurate information by ICE before he lets its lawyers off the hook.

From Slate • Mar. 27, 2026

In the same breath, Arenas refuses to let himself off the hook.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Collier-Keywood not being present allowed him off the hook at times, with WRU community director Geraint John and board member Alison Thorne in the room in Cardiff Bay and some questions from politicians dragging on.

From BBC • Feb. 26, 2026

Maybe I don’t want him to let me off the hook.

From "Love, Hate & Other Filters" by Samira Ahmed

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.