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tee off

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tee

2  [tee] noun, verb, teed, tee⋅ing.
Use tee off in a Sentence
–noun
1. Golf.
a. Also called teeing ground. the starting place, usually a hard mound of earth, at the beginning of play for each hole.
b. a small wooden, plastic, metal, or rubber peg from which the ball is driven, as in teeing off.
2. Football. a device on which the ball may be placed to raise it off the ground preparatory to kicking.
–verb (used with object)
3. Golf. to place (the ball) on a tee.
—Verb phrase
4. tee off,
a. Golf. to strike the ball from a tee.
b. Slang. to reprimand severely; scold: He teed off on his son for wrecking the car.
c. Informal. to begin: They teed off the program with a medley of songs.
d. Baseball, Softball. to make many runs and hits, esp. extra-base hits: teeing off for six runs on eight hits, including three doubles and a home run.
e. Baseball, Softball. to hit (a pitched ball) hard and far: He teed off on a fastball and drove it into the bleachers.
f. Boxing. to strike with a powerful blow, esp. to the head: He teed off on his opponent with an overhand right.
g. Slang. to make angry, irritated, or disgusted: She was teed off because her dinner guests were late.
Origin:
1665–75; orig. uncert.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tee 2   (tē)   
n.  

  1. A small peg with a concave top for holding a golf ball for an initial drive.

  2. The designated area of each golf hole from which a player makes his or her first stroke.

  3. A device used to stand a football on end for a kickoff.

  4. A shaft with a concave top attached to a flat base, used to hold the ball in T-ball.

tr.v.   teed, tee·ing, tees
To place (a ball) on a tee. Often used with up.
Phrasal Verb(s):
tee off

  1. To drive a golf ball from the tee.

  2. Slang To start or begin: They teed off the fundraising campaign with a dinner.

  3. Slang To make angry or disgusted: The impertinent remarks teed the speaker off.


[Back-formation from obsolete Scots teaz (taken as a pl.)]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
tee (so) off

  1. tv.
    to make someone angry. (See also teed off.) : Well, you sure managed to tee off everybody!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

tee 
in golf, 1721, back-formation from teaz (1673), taken as a plural; a Scottish word of uncertain origin. The original form was a little heap of sand. The verb meaning "place a ball on a golf tee" is recorded from 1673; fig. sense of "to make ready" (usually with up) is recorded from 1938. Teed off in the fig. sense of "angry, annoyed" is first recorded 1953, probably as a euphemism for p(iss)ed off.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Idioms & Phrases

tee off

  1. Start or begin, as in We teed off the fundraising drive with a banquet. This usage is a metaphor taken from golf, where tee off means "start play by driving a golf ball from the tee." [Second half of 1900s]

  2. Make angry or irritated, as in That rude comment teed him off, or I was teed off because it rained all weekend. [Slang; mid-1900s] Also see tick off.

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