Five OFF Phrasal Verbs
Today we cover FIVE phrasal verbs with OFF.
OFF can have several meanings:
·not connected or functioning
·away from a place
·cancelled
·removed
etc.
Try to memorise these phrasal verbs and think about the meaning of OFF in each one.
TO BRUSH OFF
– to ignore, to pay little attention.
I can’t believe Meg BRUSHED you OFF when you tried to help her.
The first meaning is to remove something (often dirt, dust, crumbs) from a surface by brushing. So, if somebody brushes you off, they treat you as something insignificant or useless.
TO BOUNCE OFF
– to test ideas, to talk about your idea in order to get sb’s opinion.
I’d like to BOUNCE my ideas OFF you before the conference. I BOUNCED my idea of running my own business OFF of my friends.
I believe it’s associated with the way a ball bounces off something, when you throw it, and gets back to you. You “throw” your ideas to somebody (your friends, workmates, boss) and they “return” them to you with their feedback.
TO BUNK OFF
– not to go to work/school when you should.
We had a great party on Sunday, so I BUNKED OFF work yesterday.
A BUNK is a type of bed. So, it’s likely to have derived from the following idea: when a person doesn´t go to work, they can stay the whole day in bed.
TO BLOW OFF
– not to keep an appointment.
We had to meet up with Greg on Sunday night but he BLEW me OFF.
TO CHECK OFF
– to mark something on a list as “done”.
I’ll CHECK OFF the guests’ names as they arrive.
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