See off-the-wall in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for off-the-wall meaning in English (4.4kB)
{
"etymology_text": "Perhaps from baseball or other games played with a ball, alluding to unpredictable bounces.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "more off-the-wall",
"tags": [
"comparative"
]
},
{
"form": "most off-the-wall",
"tags": [
"superlative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "off-the-wall (comparative more off-the-wall, superlative most off-the-wall)",
"name": "en-adj"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adj",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "58 42",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "What kind of a harebrained, off-the-wall idea is that?",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "She is a very off-the-wall character.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2015 March 19, Alessandra Stanley, “'Empire' Finale Review: A Sizzling End to Season One”, in New York Times",
"text": "What makes it surprising, though, are the glimmers of wit and self-awareness beneath all the rap star swagger and over-the-top confrontations. Even the fervid finale had a few off-the-wall side jokes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd."
],
"id": "en-off-the-wall-en-adj-GxJzSKp~",
"links": [
[
"unconventional",
"unconventional"
],
[
"bizarre",
"bizarre"
],
[
"absurd",
"absurd"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "huāngdàn",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "荒诞的"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "fēngkuáng",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "疯狂的"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "buitenissig"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "à côté de la plaque"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "schräg"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "abgedreht"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "schrill"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "bizarr"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "fuori dalle righe"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "od czapy"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "čudnoj",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "чудной"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nelepyj",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "нелепый"
},
{
"_dis1": "98 2",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "uppåt väggarna"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2012, Reginald Pierce, The Paladin, page 204",
"text": "All of their friends were amazed that they were familiar with a war hero. Some began to understand Chips' moods and drinking. His \"off the wall\" behaviour at times. And unknowingly they were \"forgiving\" him.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate."
],
"id": "en-off-the-wall-en-adj-pM6OWm4A",
"links": [
[
"inappropriate",
"inappropriate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "5 95",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "greatly inappropriate",
"word": "daneben"
},
{
"_dis1": "5 95",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni v kakije vorota",
"sense": "greatly inappropriate",
"word": "ни в какие ворота"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-off-the-wall.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "off the wall"
}
],
"word": "off-the-wall"
}
{
"categories": [
"English adjectives",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English terms with audio links"
],
"etymology_text": "Perhaps from baseball or other games played with a ball, alluding to unpredictable bounces.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "more off-the-wall",
"tags": [
"comparative"
]
},
{
"form": "most off-the-wall",
"tags": [
"superlative"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "off-the-wall (comparative more off-the-wall, superlative most off-the-wall)",
"name": "en-adj"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "adj",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "What kind of a harebrained, off-the-wall idea is that?",
"type": "example"
},
{
"text": "She is a very off-the-wall character.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "2015 March 19, Alessandra Stanley, “'Empire' Finale Review: A Sizzling End to Season One”, in New York Times",
"text": "What makes it surprising, though, are the glimmers of wit and self-awareness beneath all the rap star swagger and over-the-top confrontations. Even the fervid finale had a few off-the-wall side jokes.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd."
],
"links": [
[
"unconventional",
"unconventional"
],
[
"bizarre",
"bizarre"
],
[
"absurd",
"absurd"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2012, Reginald Pierce, The Paladin, page 204",
"text": "All of their friends were amazed that they were familiar with a war hero. Some began to understand Chips' moods and drinking. His \"off the wall\" behaviour at times. And unknowingly they were \"forgiving\" him.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate."
],
"links": [
[
"inappropriate",
"inappropriate"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) Of a person's behaviour: greatly inappropriate."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-off-the-wall.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-au-off-the-wall.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "off the wall"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "huāngdàn",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "荒诞的"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "fēngkuáng",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "疯狂的"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "buitenissig"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "à côté de la plaque"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "schräg"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "abgedreht"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "schrill"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "bizarr"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "fuori dalle righe"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "od czapy"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "čudnoj",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "чудной"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "nelepyj",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "нелепый"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "wildly unconventional; bizarre; absurd",
"word": "uppåt väggarna"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "greatly inappropriate",
"word": "daneben"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "ni v kakije vorota",
"sense": "greatly inappropriate",
"word": "ни в какие ворота"
}
],
"word": "off-the-wall"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-04-21 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.