Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

go off the reservation

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.94 in modern English

Syllables: go of-f the reser-va-tion
IPA

32

Scrabble Score

19

Letters

4

Syllables

12

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To leave an Indian reservation to which one was restricted.

Derogatory

verb

To break with one's party or group, usually temporarily.

American usage

verb

To engage in disruptive activity outside normal bounds.

verb

To act in an independent, uncontrolled, or unauthorized manner.

Example Sentences

"The Indian may go off the reservation, he can steal from the whites and run back to the reservation with impunity."
"This hand was ready to give the works to any physician, a member of the Medical Association in good standing, who'd go off the reservation by daring to serve a medical co-operative on a full-time salary."
"I'll never forget 1948 when these so called "liberals" (synthetics I call them) went off the reservation and gave New York to Dewey."
"When the Russians do go off the reservation, as they did early in April 1965, their object is not to challenge the Western allies of yesteryear, the United States, Britain, and France, but to impress upon West Germany their support for East Germany and its claim to West Berlin."
"The technician mentally recalibrated. "Yes ma'am. An Alpha-9-associated device just went offline unexpectedly." She raised an eyebrow. "Thompson and Adams gone off the res again?""

Etymology

By analogy with a member of the tribe leaving an Indian reservation.

Usage

Derogatory
American usage

Inflected Forms

goes off the reservation (present, singular) going off the reservation (participle, present) went off the reservation (past) gone off the reservation (participle, past)

Phrases

off the reservation off-reserve

Frequently Paired Words

nonreservation off-reserve

Synonyms

go beyond the pale go off the res go off the rez go rogue jump the reservation

Questions

What does go off the reservation mean?: To leave an Indian reservation to which one was restricted.
Where does go off the reservation come from?: By analogy with a member of the tribe leaving an Indian reservation.

How to pronounce go off the reservation

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