off-the-cuff

off-the-cuff
adjective
with little or no preparation or forethought
-

his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment

-

an extemporaneous piano recital

-

an extemporary lecture

-

an extempore skit

-

an impromptu speech

-

offhand excuses

-

trying to sound offhanded and reassuring

-

an off-the-cuff toast

-

a few unrehearsed comments

• Syn:
• Similar to: ↑unprepared

* * *

/awf"dheuh kuf", of"-/, adj.
with little or no preparation; extemporaneous; impromptu: a speaker with a good off-the-cuff delivery.
[1940-45]

* * *

off-the-cuff UK US adjective, adverb
if you say something off-the-cuff, you do not plan it or think about it first

an off-the-cuff reply/​remark/​comment

She’s very good at speaking on these issues off-the-cuff.

Thesaurus: not plannedsynonym

* * *

off-the-cuff «AWFTH uh KUHF, OF-», adjective, adverb. U.S. Informal.
–adj.
not prepared in advance; extemporaneous; impromptu: »

Armed for his off-the-cuff speeches only with a list of candidates' names, he interweaves their names into his talk as if the speech had been built on that basis (Wall Street Journal).

–adv.

* * *

adj
: not prepared in advance : done without planning or preparation

He made some off-the-cuff remarks during his presentation which drew laughter.

— see also off the cuff at ↑cuff, 1

* * *

ˌoff-the-ˈcuff [off-the-cuff] ;
» ↑cuff n.  You will also find other compounds beginning off-the- at the entry for the last word in the compound.

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • off-the-cuff — {adj.}, {informal} Not prepared ahead of time. Used of a speech or remarks. * /Jack was made master of ceremonies because he was a good off the cuff speaker./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • off-the-cuff — {adj.}, {informal} Not prepared ahead of time. Used of a speech or remarks. * /Jack was made master of ceremonies because he was a good off the cuff speaker./ …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • off-the-cuff — adj. with little or no preparation or forethought; unrehearsed; extemporaneous; offhand. his off the cuff remarks offended many people; an off the cuff toast Syn: ad lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, offhand, offhanded, unpremeditated …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • off-the-cuff — adjective, adverb if you say something off the cuff, you do not plan it or think about it first: an off the cuff reply/remark/comment She s very good at speaking on these issues off the cuff …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • off-the-cuff — adj [usually before noun] an off the cuff remark, reply etc is one that you make without thinking about it first = ↑spontaneous >off the cuff adv …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • off the cuff — If you do something off the cuff, you do it without any preparation …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • off the cuff — ► off the cuff informal without preparation. [ORIGIN: as if from notes jotted on one s shirt cuffs.] Main Entry: ↑cuff …   English terms dictionary

  • off the cuff — [adj] impromptu ad lib, extemporaneous, improv*, improvised, improviso, off hand, played by ear*, shot from the hip*, spontaneous, spur of the moment, unpremeditated, unprepared, unrehearsed, unscripted, whipped up*, winged*; concept 267 …   New thesaurus

  • off-the-cuff — off′ the cuff′ adj. with little or no preparation; impromptu • Etymology: 1940 …   From formal English to slang

  • off the cuff — adverb without preparation the presidential candidate made a remark off the cuff * * * (informal) 1 an off the cuff remark: IMPROMPTU, extempore, ad lib; unrehearsed, unscripted, unprepared …   Useful english dictionary

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