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• off-the-wall
  off-the-wall

  adjective

  markedly unconventional; bizarre; oddball.
• 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]

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

See Examples For:

off-the-wall off the wall

"But watching the film and the documentary, the themes are so much about family, community and belonging. They are kind of off-the-wall characters, but there's so much love."

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

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

Behind many of the off-the-wall celebrations is the desire to make it memorable, Teambuilding.com’s Robinson said.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 19, 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

But at his home, Tropicana Field, it wasn’t high enough and banged off the wall for a double.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

There were no blinds or curtains in the window, and an electric socket was "hanging dangerously off the wall".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

“When we moved in and everything was concrete, it was really loud because the sound would bounce off the wall and the floor, and our garage would flood all the time,” Novack said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

Some of the alternate realities we’ve seen before, though not necessarily so well treated, and some are ones no one has thought of before, so off the wall are they.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

She ricocheted off the wall and collapsed like a ton of bricks.

From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah