pop off

See also: Popoff

English

Verb

pop off (third-person singular simple present pops off, present participle popping off, simple past and past participle popped off)

1. (intransitive, informal) To leave and return in a short time.

   I'm just popping off to the shops to pick up some bread.

2. (intransitive, informal) To die suddenly.
3. (transitive, informal) To kill someone.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:kill

   • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 35, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 173:

     When Captain Sleet in person stood his mast-head in this crow’s-nest of his, he tells us that he always had a rifle with him (also fixed in the rack), together with a powder flask and shot, for the purpose of popping off the stray narwhales, or vagrant sea unicorns infesting those waters; […]

   • 1923, Margaret J. Winkler, “Felix Strikes It Rich”, in Felix the Cat:

     Dig your own grave, then I'll pop you off!

4. (transitive) To fire or launch (a shot, projectile, or missile), especially singly or in small bursts.
   • 2021 March 10, Drachinifel, 20:44 from the start, in Guadalcanal Campaign - The Big Night Battle: Night 1 (IJN 3(?) : 2 USN)‎^[1], archived from the original on 17 October 2022:

     The Long Lances, however, were thick in the water, and soon Portland was hit in the stern, sending her turning donuts across the ocean trying to work out which way to point her guns, popping off occasional shots at Hiei, which, by now, was heavily ablaze and a very obvious target in the night.

5. (intransitive, informal, usually derogatory) To speak frankly.

   popping off at the mouth

6. (intransitive, informal) To release flatulence, generally in short rapid succession.
7. To thrust away, or put off promptly.

   to pop one off with a denial

   • 1693, [John Locke], “(please specify the section number)”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:

     And if by chance their Curiosity leads them to ask, what they ſhould not know; it is a great deal better to tell them plainly, than to pop them off with a Falſhood, or a frivolous Answer

8. (transitive, informal, UK) To turn off.

   Pop that light off, will you?

9. (slang) To perform extremely well (in a video game or other activity).

   After changing my mouse sensitivity, I immediately started popping off.