Off the cuff
Suggest a CorrectionMeaning
Spoken, decided, or done without advance preparation; impromptu rather than rehearsed.
Origin
The figurative phrase developed in American English in the early twentieth century. Research cited by Grammarphobia has found a 1922 film-industry use of shot off the cuff for work produced without preparation, while Merriam-Webster dates the established adjective to 1936. The Oxford English Dictionary explains the image as if the speaker were consulting last-minute notes written on a shirt cuff. That explanation is plausible and reflects a real note-taking practice, but the surviving evidence does not identify a particular speaker or event that coined the phrase.
Research Sources
Usage Examples
- Her off-the-cuff answer was clearer than the statement the advisers had prepared.
- I cannot give an exact cost off the cuff, but I can send the estimate this afternoon.
- The chair abandoned his notes and spoke off the cuff about the volunteers' work.