off-the-wall

American  

[awf-thuh-wawl, of-] / ˈɔf ðəˈwɔl, ˈɒf- /

adjective

Informal.

1. markedly unconventional; bizarre; oddball.

   an unpredictable, off-the-wall personality.

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off-the-wall British  

adjective

1. slang (off the wall when postpositive) new or unexpected in an unconventional or eccentric way

   an off-the-wall approach to humour

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off the wall Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of off-the-wall

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

It’s no wonder the new season of “Jury Duty,” a comedy series that tricks an unsuspecting non-actor into believing his off-the-wall fictional circumstances are actually happening, is set at a corporate off-site.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

“David was definitely the strangest cat I’d ever seen, and I’d been around some off-the-wall characters, even at that point in my career.”

From Salon • May 31, 2024

By his admission, Farrazaino drives his lawyers crazy with some of his off-the-wall ideas.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

There are some off-the-wall claims too, such as comparing the Spice Girls' "crusade against sexism" with "Mandela's struggle against apartheid".

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2023

To McCorkle, Sergeant Bloom had sounded a bit off-the-wall, a maverick theorist selling out the program.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover