offhandadj.adv.
/ˌɒfˈhand/, /ˈɒfˌhand/, U.S. /ˈɔfˈhænd/, /ˈɑfˈhænd/ A. adj.† 3. Of an ox, horse, etc.: that goes on the right-hand side; = off adv. 2a. Obsolete. rare.
1. Of action, speech, etc.: unpremeditated, extemporaneous, impromptu; (also) having the air or style of something so done; free and easy, unstudied, unceremonious. Now frequently in negative sense: offensively casual or nonchalant.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unplanned
suddena1300
unpremeditate1551
extemporal1570
unpurposed1570
unmeditated1576
extemporate1590
unpremeditated1597
unplotted1598
extemporary1610
extemporanean1621
extempory1623
impremeditate1647
unthought1648
unresolved1649
extemporate1651
incogitate1652
unprojected1653
indeliberate1655
extemporaneous1656
indeliberated1656
autoschediastical1662
casual1667
offhanda1668
undiscourseda1670
extemporany1673
unplanned1775
impromptu1789
on (also upon) the spur of the moment (or occasion, etc.)1801
autoschediastic1809
impromptuary1827
improvised1833
extemporized1856
spontaneous1856
unconsidered1876
undevised1894
lashed-up1920
ad-libbed1933
willy-nilly1933
off the cuff1948
a1668 J. Renwick Choice Coll. Serm. (1776) 575 I am not, even in this case, for a rude off hand withdrawing until private admonition..once and again prove ineffectual.
1719 Free-thinker No. 107. 1 A very Familiar, Off-hand Epistle..from a young Gentleman.
1785–90 R. Cumberland Observer No. 109 (R.) This..supplies him with many an apt couplet for off-hand quotations.
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk (1869) 2nd ser. xvii. 344 The dashing off-hand manner of the mere man of business.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) vi. 71 Speaking in his rapid, off-hand way.
1879 G. Meredith Egoist I. xvi. 294 ‘I do not ride’, Laetitia replied to the off-hand inquiry.
1922 W. Gerhardie Futility iii. vii. 180 The boyish subaltern who motioned in an off-hand manner in the direction of the station.
1988 S. Quinn Mind of her Own xiv. 311 What angered Horney's peers..was the offhand way in which she presented Freud's work.
2001 Yahoo! Internet Life Aug. 70 This so-called gonzo journalism helped revolutionize American writing with an offhand but infectiously readable style.
2. Of persons: acting in such a manner; unceremonious, unstudied. Now usually in negative sense: ungraciously or offensively casual or cool in manner; curt, brusque. Frequently used predicatively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > [adjective] > curt or brusque
short1390
cutted1530
snappish1542
abrupt1578
stunt1581
blunt1590
brusquea1639
snapping1642
blatec1650
brisk1665
bluff1705
offhand1708
prerupt1727
squab1737
prompt1768
crisp1814
brief1818
stuntya1825
curt1831
snappy1834
bluffy1844
nebby1873
offhandish1886
nebsy1894
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adjective] > unplanned > not planning
undesigning1673
offhand1708
off-handed1750
undeliberatinga1763
impulsive1847
seat-of-the-pants1935
1708 Brit. Apollo 15–17 Dec. Who come like Master of a Riddle Or Off-hand Man upon a Fiddle.
1741 J. Ozell tr. P. de B. de Brantôme Spanish Rhodomontades 1 An off-hand ready Wit, and lofty Words.
1853 E. Bulwer-Lytton My Novel I. ii. vi. 120 Egerton is off-hand enough where his pen runs glibly through paragraphs that relate to others.
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta I. xix. 193 They are painfully off-hand with me, absolutely refusing to be intimate.
1952 E. Templeton Island of Desire i. ii. 13 She was inclined to be off-hand with people but she always handled people's belongings with awe.
1988 W. Hamilton Lap of Luxury ii. xxi. 208 Mary was comfortably offhand and ungrand about her ‘dough’.
1998 G. Phinn Other Side of Dale (1999) xxi. 233 That offhand secretary of yours quite got up my nose.
ΚΠ
1845 F. Douglass Narr. Life F. Douglass 58 Covey..told me which was the in-hand ox, and which the off-hand one.
4. Mining. Designating a colliery worker employed on a casual basis (usually in a capacity other than on the face), or the work done by such a person. Now chiefly historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [adjective] > types of
streaming1778
off-handed1846
offhand1849
hard rock1890
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 47 The payment for off-hand work.., is 3s. per shift of 8 hours.
1888 W. E. Nicholson Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Offhandmen, a term applied to all colliery workmen except hewers and putters.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §047 Odd worker, off hand man, wage man, general terms for men or boys employed above or below ground and paid by the day.
1926 Rep. Royal Comm. Coal Industry 118 in Parl. Papers (Cmd. 2600) XIV Persons working at the face..‘face’ workers. In 1905 there were 58 face workers to 42 off-hand workers.
a1970 A. B. McLagan Hist. Newcastle Unions lii, in www.ncc.nsw.gov.au 20 Nov. (O.E.D. Archive) On August the 13th [1937] a settlement in connection with claims was arrived at. Miners on contract to receive an advance of 10% and off hand workers and youths 5%.
5. U.S. Shooting. Of or relating to the technique of firing from a gun (esp. a rifle) held in the hand without other support; (also) designating this type of shot, or a person skilled in such shooting.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > use or operation of small arms > [adjective] > fired by gun held in hand
offhand1856
1856 R. Glisan Jrnl. Army Life (1874) xxiv. 328 I surprised everybody by killing the duck at an off-hand shot.
1868 E. C. Barber Crack Shot 271 The position in which you should be for ‘off-hand’ shooting, and it is for such shooting I propose giving directions, is one that admits of a good deal of discussion.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 449/2 On Tuesday, Nov. 20, at Conlin's Gallery, some twenty of the prominent off-hand riflemen, of New York City, organized this new club... general rifle practice being the object of the association.
1916 Marines Mag. Sept. 14 Jenkins had made a bull's eye, offhand shooting.
1990 Guns & Ammo Sept. 35/1 As admirable as off-hand skill is, it should be left unused in the hunting fields... Under most hunting situations you can take advantage of some kind of rest.
6. English regional (chiefly East Anglian). Of a farm: owned or held by a person who does not reside there.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > [adjective] > owned by absentee
offhand1873
1873 F. T. Chevallier Let. 6 May in J. Thirsk & J. Imray Suffolk Farming in Nineteenth Cent. (1958) 106 On the off-hand farm I shall have a good opportunity of seeing what will be required during the ensuing year.
1880 R. S. Charnock Gloss. Essex Dial. 33 Some who hold farms in different parishes call those farms where they do not reside ‘off-hand farms’.
1898 Longman's Mag. Sept. 408 The labourer in charge of an off-hand farm.
1960 G. E. Evans Horse in Furrow xvi. 209 We generally spent two days at a farm, and perhaps another day at an ‘off~hand’ farm belonging to it.
1999 R. Malster Mardler's Compan. 54/1 An Essex farmer who retired to the Suffolk village of Acton used to refer to his vegetable plot, on the other side of the road from his bungalow, as ‘Off-hand Farm’.
7. Baking. Of dough: made straightaway, and not from a preliminary sponge.
ΚΠ
1904 Daily Chron. 4 Mar. 10/5 (advt.) Wanted a foreman for bread and smalls; used to off-hand doughs.
1911 Encycl. Brit. IV. 469/1 In the off-hand method the dough is made right off, without any preliminary stages of ferment and sponge. This plan is sometimes adopted for making tin bread, and occasionally crusty loaves.
1999 Countryside & Small stock Jrnl. (Nexis) 1 Mar. 37 Straight (or offhand) dough is made by mixing all the ingredients at one time, then setting the mass in a warm place to rise.
8. Engineering. Of an operation: carried out with the workpiece held in the hand. Of a machine: intended for operations carried out with the workpiece held in the hand.
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society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [adjective] > type of machining
offhand1931
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > types of machine generally > [adjective] > operated by hand or foot
manual1921
manually operated1921
step-on1945
offhand1966
1931 E. P. Van Leuven Cold Metal Working iv. 65 We refer to grinding as off-hand, semiprecision or precision grinding, depending on the type of machine and the degree of accuracy required.
1961 L. E. Doyle et al. Manuf. Processes xxviii. 643 Nonprecision grinding, common forms of which are snagging and off-hand grinding, is done primarily to remove stock that cannot be taken off as conveniently by other methods.
1966 G. H. Thomas Metalwork Technol. xiii. 150 ‘Off-hand’ grinders..are of two types—bench models and pedestal (or floor) models.
1969 C. R. Shotbolt Workshop Technol. I. vi. 120 The author does not believe in any expensive cutting tool being ground by hand on an off-hand grinding machine.
1991 Woodburning Winter 63/3 The head of the lathe can also be turned through 180° for off hand turning, which allows all right hand accessories, chucks and face plates, to be used.
9. Glass-making. Designating glassware made by hand, without a mould; also denoting such a process.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > glass-making > [adjective] > specific processes
Fourcault1908
offhand1941
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [adjective] > other types of glass
blownc1425
Bohemian1682
grounded1698
soft1758
unsilvered1772
navelledc1817
drawn-out1822
muffled1847
ambitty1856
muffed1868
roughcast1868
Sandwich1881
fumé1883
hand-blown1885
peach-blow1886
opaque1907
mould-blown1925
offhand1941
1941 C. J. Phillips Glass viii. 156 The glass employed in ‘offhand’ glass blowing is usually melted in pots.
1949 P. Davis Devel. Amer. Glass Industry iv. 49 The process of blowing in a mold was closely similar to the off-hand method.
1967 C. Gaskin Edge of Glass vi. 144 He..took up his empty wineglass. ‘If you were making this by the “off~hand” method—that's entirely by hand—you'd start with heating your batch.’
1970 Canad. Antiques Collector July–Aug. 14/2 You can feel the intrinsic beauty of an off-hand glass chain.
1991 Stained Glass Fall 181 Although Bullseye produces no mouth blown sheet glass, there is a crew at one end of the production line using blow pipes and off-hand techniques that have not changed significantly in 2,000 years.
B. adv.
1. At once, straightaway; without preliminary thought, consideration, or preparation; casually, nonchalantly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb]
soonc825
ratheeOE
rathelyeOE
rekeneOE
rekenlyOE
thereright971
anonOE
forth ona1000
coflyc1000
ferlyc1000
radlyOE
swiftlyc1000
unyoreOE
yareOE
at the forme (also first) wordOE
nowOE
shortlya1050
rightOE
here-rightlOE
right anonlOE
anonc1175
forthrightc1175
forthwithalc1175
skeetc1175
swithc1175
with and withc1175
anon-rightc1225
anon-rights?c1225
belivec1225
lightly?c1225
quickly?c1225
tidelyc1225
fastlyc1275
hastilyc1275
i-radlichec1275
as soon asc1290
aright1297
bedenea1300
in little wevea1300
withoute(n dwella1300
alrightc1300
as fast (as)c1300
at firstc1300
in placec1300
in the placec1300
mididonec1300
outrightc1300
prestc1300
streck13..
titec1300
without delayc1300
that stounds1303
rada1325
readya1325
apacec1325
albedenec1330
as (also also) titec1330
as blivec1330
as line rightc1330
as straight as linec1330
in anec1330
in presentc1330
newlyc1330
suddenlyc1330
titelyc1330
yernec1330
as soon1340
prestly1340
streckly1340
swithly?1370
evenlya1375
redelya1375
redlya1375
rifelya1375
yeplya1375
at one blastc1380
fresha1382
ripelyc1384
presentc1385
presently1385
without arrestc1385
readilyc1390
in the twinkling of a looka1393
derflya1400
forwhya1400
skeetlya1400
straighta1400
swifta1400
maintenantc1400
out of handc1400
wightc1400
at a startc1405
immediately1420
incontinent1425
there and then1428
onenec1429
forwithc1430
downright?a1439
agatec1440
at a tricec1440
right forth1440
withouten wonec1440
whipc1460
forthwith1461
undelayed1470
incessantly1472
at a momentc1475
right nowc1475
synec1475
incontinently1484
promptly1490
in the nonce?a1500
uncontinent1506
on (upon, in) the instant1509
in short1513
at a clap1519
by and by1526
straightway1526
at a twitch1528
at the first chop1528
maintenantly1528
on a tricea1529
with a tricec1530
at once1531
belively1532
straightwaysa1533
short days1533
undelayedly1534
fro hand1535
indelayedly1535
straight forth1536
betimesc1540
livelyc1540
upononc1540
suddenly1544
at one (or a) dash?1550
at (the) first dash?1550
instantly1552
forth of hand1564
upon the nines1568
on the nail1569
at (also in, with) a thoughtc1572
indilately1572
summarily1578
at one (a) chop1581
amain1587
straightwise1588
extempore1593
presto1598
upon the place1600
directly1604
instant1604
just now1606
with a siserary1607
promiscuously1609
at (in) one (an) instant1611
on (also upon) the momenta1616
at (formerly also on or upon) sight1617
hand to fist1634
fastisha1650
nextly1657
to rights1663
straightaway1663
slap1672
at first bolt1676
point-blank1679
in point1680
offhand1686
instanter1688
sonica1688
flush1701
like a thought1720
in a crack1725
momentary1725
bumbye1727
clacka1734
plumba1734
right away1734
momentarily1739
momentaneously1753
in a snap1768
right off1771
straight an end1778
abruptedly1784
in a whistle1784
slap-bang1785
bang?1795
right off the reel1798
in a whiff1800
in a flash1801
like a shot1809
momently1812
in a brace or couple of shakes1816
in a gird1825
(all) in a rush1829
in (also at, on) short (also quick) order1830
straightly1830
toot sweetc1830
in two twos1838
rectly1843
quick-stick1844
short metre1848
right1849
at the drop of a (occasionally the) hat1854
off the hooks1860
quicksticks1860
straight off1873
bang off1886
away1887
in quick sticks (also in a quick stick)1890
ek dum1895
tout de suite1895
bung1899
one time1899
prompt1910
yesterday1911
in two ups1934
presto changeo1946
now-now1966
presto change1987
1686 G. Stuart Joco-serious Disc. 58 Off hand I ran into the toun.
1694 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 446 The speech before mention'd..being off-hand upon the debates of the House of Commons, was burnt by command of the House.
1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 207 He was a learned Man..and would..speak very neatly offhand in Latin.
1764 ‘G. Psalmanazar’ Memoirs 189 He read the office all in a good Latin off-hand, as the saying is, and without any hesitation or solecism.
1849 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 195 Wonderful bits of Poems, written off hand at a sitting, most of them.
1872 J. R. Lowell Wks. (1890) IV. 243 Habit is a growth and cannot be made off-hand.
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea iii. 25 When you had just sold a man's Jersey cow offhand, without his knowledge or consent, you must not mind if his parrot repeated uncomplimentary things.
1950 E. Ferber Giant (1953) ii. 12 And a big clop with a lot of good stones..is smart worn just stuck somewhere offhand like you'd jab safety pins into the front of your dress diapering a baby.
1989 New Scientist 15 Apr. 96/2 Off hand, I cannot recall anything of the sort in research.
2. U.S. Shooting. From the hand, with no other support.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > competitive shooting > [adverb] > with no other support
offhand1804
1804 M. Lewis Jrnl. 20 Feb. in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1986) II. 175 All at the same target and at the distance of fifty yards off hand.
1833 Sketches & Eccentricities D. Crockett ix. 119 Forty yards off~hand, or sixty with a rest, is the distance generally chosen for a shooting match.
1835 A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 222 That they [sc. rifles] should be fired off-hand, while the shot-guns were allowed a rest, the distance being equal.
1970 Amer. Speech 43 217 The shot could be made with a single-shot muzzle-loading rifle or with a two-shoot gun, fired either off-hand or with a rest.
1988 Airgun World 51/2 From a rest it gave good accuracy, but the reviewer found it difficult to shoot ‘off-hand’.
3. English regional (chiefly East Anglian). to farm (also hold, etc.) off-hand: to own or hold a farm or farmland without residing on it.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > [verb (intransitive)] > types of farming
to farm (also hold, etc.) off-hand1807
sharecrop1893
cocky1899
share-farm1903
nest1918
1807 A. Young Agric. Essex i. 45 The houses of small farms, whether holden off-hand, or inhabited by the farmers themselves, are frequently wretched hovels.
1879 Norfolk Archaeol. 8 171 A farmer having an occupation apart from his homestead is said to farm it off-hand.
1898 Longman's Mag. Sept. 408 The land had been farmed ‘off-hand’, that is to say, the tenant did not live on the farm, but put in a working bailiff.
1999 R. Malster Mardler's Compan. 54/1 A farmer who has an outlying field or holding separate from the homestead is said to farm it off-hand.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.adv.a1668