off the cuff

[awf-thuh-kuhf, of-] Origin

off-the-cuff

[awf-thuh-kuhf, of-]
adjective
with little or no preparation; extemporaneous; impromptu: a speaker with a good off-the-cuff delivery.

Origin:
1940–45

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Off the cuff is always a great word to know.
So is slumgullion. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

cuff

1[kuhf]
noun
1.
a fold or band serving as a trimming or finish for the bottom of a sleeve.
2.
a turned-up fold, as at the bottom of a trouser leg.
3.
the part of a gauntlet or long glove that extends over the wrist.
4.
a separate or detachable band or piece of fabric worn about the wrist, inside or outside of the sleeve.
5.
an elasticized, ribbed, or reinforced band at the top of a sock or stocking.
EXPAND
6.
a band of leather or other material, wider than a collar, sewed around the outside of the top of a shoe or boot to serve as a trimming or finish.
7.
8.
Anatomy. a bandlike muscle or group of muscles encircling a body part.
9.
Furniture. a horizontal strip of veneer used as an ornament on a leg.
10.
Medicine/Medical. an inflatable wrap placed around the upper arm and used in conjunction with a device for recording blood pressure.
COLLAPSE
verb (used with object)
11.
to make a cuff or cuffs on: to cuff a pair of trousers.
12.
to put handcuffs on.
13.
off the cuff, Informal.
a.
extemporaneously; on the spur of the moment.
b.
unofficially or informally: I'm telling you this strictly off the cuff.
14.
on the cuff, Slang.
a.
with the promise of future payment; on credit.
b.
without charge; with no payment expected: He enjoyed his meal the more because it was on the cuff.

Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English cuffe mitten; perhaps akin to Old English cuffie cap < Medieval Latin cuphia coif
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To off the cuff
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

cuff
"hit," 1530, perhaps from Sw. kuffa "to thrust, push."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

cuff (kŭf)
n.

  1. A bandlike structure encircling a part.

  2. An inflatable band, usually wrapped around the upper arm, that is used along with a sphygmomanometer in measuring arterial blood pressure.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

cuff definition


  1. tv.
    to put a charge on one's bill. : Would you cuff this for me, please?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

off the cuff

Impromptu, extemporaneous, as in His speech was entirely off the cuff. This term supposedly alludes to the practice of speakers making last-minute notes on the cuff of a shirtsleeve. [1930s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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