off the cuff
/ɒf ðə ˈkʌf
/ informal Without preparation: they posed some difficult questions to answer off the cuff [as modifier]: an off-the-cuff remark...
- I think he'd be able to answer questions quicker off the cuff.
- My remark was off the cuff and I stress that at that time I had made no calculation as to possible damage to the reversionary interest.
- Does one memorise a previously written piece, read verbatim from a carefully prepared script, or speak off the cuff and risk drying up?
Synonyms
impromptu, extempore, ad lib;
unrehearsed, unscripted, unprepared, improvised, spontaneous, unplanned;
offhand, casual;
Latin ad libitum
rare extemporaneous
without preparation, without rehearsal, impromptu, ad lib;
spontaneously;
Latin ad libitum
informal off the top of one's head, on the spur of the moment
rare extemporaneously
As if from impromptu notes made on one's shirt cuffs
See parent entry: cuff