off-the-wall

See also: off the wall

English

Alternative forms

• off the wall

Etymology

Perhaps from baseball or other games played with a ball, alluding to unpredictable bounces.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Adjective

off-the-wall (comparative more off-the-wall, superlative most off-the-wall)

1. (idiomatic) Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd.

   What kind of a harebrained, off-the-wall idea is that?

   She is a very off-the-wall character.

2. (idiomatic) Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate.
   • 2012, Reginald Pierce, The Paladin (page 204)

     All of their friends were amazed that they were familiar with a war hero. Some began to understand Chips' moods and drinking. His "off the wall" behaviour at times. And unknowingly they were "forgiving" him.

Translations

wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 荒诞 (zh) (huāngdàn)的， 疯狂 (zh) (fēngkuáng)的

• Dutch: buitenissig (nl)
• French: à côté de la plaque (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: schräg (de), abgedreht (de), schrill (de), bizarr (de)
• Italian: Fuori dalle righe
• Russian: чудной (ru) m (čudnoj), нелепый (ru) m (nelepyj)
• Swedish: uppåt väggarna (sv)

greatly inappropriate

• German: daneben (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: ни в какие ворота (ni v kakije vorota)