off the track

Idioms  

1. Away from one's objective, train of thought, or a sequence of events, It is often put as, as in Your question has gotten me off the track, or The interruption threw Mom off the track and she forgot what she'd already put into the stew. This term comes from railroading, where it means “derailed.” Its figurative use was first recorded in 1875.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

off the track

The brazen - arguably gallus - boy from Edinburgh has won the hearts of many Scots, and athletics fans generally, in recent years for his no-nonsense, bullish approach on and off the track.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The Italian said he was "very annoyed" by an incident at Turn One on lap six, in which he tried to overtake Russell around the outside and ended up off the track.

From BBC ● May 23, 2026

Images circulating on social media showed the truck performing a wheelie before swerving off the track and crashing into the barriers separating the public from the track.

From Barron's ● May 4, 2026

He adds that Antonelli’s maturity stood out even as a youngster in that he was able to deal well with difficulties on and off the track.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026

He couldn’t begin to comprehend, now, how far off the track he was with his baptismal fixation.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver