May 25, 2011 - Word of the Day: off

Student: Paul, how old are you?

Paul: How old do you think I am?

Student: 53?

Paul: No, you're way off! I'm only 47.

The word "off" can be used as an adjective to mean that a person is wrong in an estimate or a guess. It describes inaccuracies. Here are more examples:

• His calculation was off by 1.23%.
• Our sales figures are off this month.
• My estimate was just a little off.
• The forecast for rain was way off. It was hot and sunny today.

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