Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

off the hook

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.36 in modern English

Syllables: of-f the hook
IPA

26

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Relieved of a duty, burden, responsibility, or pressure.

adj

Of a telephone, having an open connection; not hung up.

adj

Of a telephone, ringing frequently.

adj

Performing extraordinarily well.

Informal

adj

Fresh, cool, trendy, excellent, incredible.

Informal; Slang

Example Sentences

"off the hook for"
"Well, you're off the hook for next Tuesday's meeting, but you're still on the hook for this Friday's deadline."
"When the boss assigned the project to Tom, the rest of us were relieved to be off the hook."
"Without any evidence, the police had to let the suspect off the hook."
"Dom (David Jonsson): Tempting, but I think it's actually something I need to do. Like, I get what they did was peak, but I have to take some responsibility, you know? Yas (Vivian Oparah): Like, not at all. You're gonna let them off the hook after how they treated you?"
"I think he left the phone off the hook so that nobody would call him."

Etymology

An allusion to a fish caught on the hook of a fishing line.

Usage

Phrases

off the heezy off the hizzle off the chain off the hooks ring off the hook

Frequently Paired Words

off the chain off the hooks ring off the hook

Antonyms

on the hook

Questions

What does off the hook mean?: Relieved of a duty, burden, responsibility, or pressure.
Where does off the hook come from?: An allusion to a fish caught on the hook of a fishing line.

How to pronounce off the hook

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