throw off

verb

1. to free oneself of; discard

2. to produce or utter in a casual manner

   to throw off a witty remark

3. to escape from or elude

   the fox rapidly threw off his pursuers

4. to confuse or disconcert

   the interruption threw the young pianist off

5. informal,  to deride or ridicule

Idioms and Phrases

Cast out, rid oneself of, as in He threw off all unpleasant memories and went to the reunion . [Early 1600s]

Give off, emit, as in The garbage was throwing off an awful smell . [First half of 1700s] Also see throw out , def. 1.

Also, . Distract, divert, or mislead, as in A mistaken estimate threw off her calculations , or These clues were designed to throw the detective off the scent . The variant comes from hunting, where the quarry may try to put pursuing hounds off the scent. Its figurative use dates from the mid-1800s. Also see off the track .

Perform in a quick, spontaneous, or casual manner, as in He threw off one sketch after another . [Mid-1700s]

Example Sentences

“When you don’t know how much contact’s going to be allowed, it does throw off that rhythm, which increases your injury risk.”

From Los Angeles Times

The snippets of English, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish alongside Korean threw off a local walking past who asked, "Why are there so many foreigners here?"

From BBC

Its colonizing project was carried out just as other colonized peoples were throwing off their rulers.

From Salon

After Glasnow had thrown one bullpen session a week and a half earlier, a bout of back tightness had kept him from throwing off a mound again since.

From Los Angeles Times

But most people will be there for the belated reunion of Lohan with Jamie Lee Curtis, a pairing that still throws off sparks.

From Los Angeles Times