throw off

British  

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

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throw off Idioms  

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

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

3. 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 .

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

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Example Sentences

“It’s weird that something that we just threw off like that suddenly becomes part of the lexicon of our lives,” Reiner said on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in September.

From Los Angeles Times

Making space for a third row of seats often throws off the upright stance and two-box proportions that characterize SUV designs, leaving a lot of them looking awkwardly elongated, slab-sided or overheavy at the stern.

From The Wall Street Journal

Clearly, the situation had to be nipped in the bud, for any change in the day’s schedule risked throwing off the careful precision of the plan Penelope and Simon had devised.

From Literature

As the rising costs of everyday expenses stretches household budgets “even if you’re on top of your finances,” sudden price increases can throw off an entire budget, said Devin Miller, chief executive of SecureSave.

From MarketWatch

I don’t want to throw off my asset allocation.

From Barron's