Meanings
- In an off-the-cuff manner.
McCartney is a showman, not a script-reader. His banter Friday night was fresh, off the cuff.
2026 March 29, Matt Mitchell, “In LA, Paul McCartney is king”, in AV Club1 more example
Nor was there anything off the cuff about their insistence that Manuel Pellegrini was happy to make the name of his replacement public knowledge, echoing his sentiment that they were “not doing anything behind me” from a press conference earlier in the same day.
2016 February 2, Lee Roden, “Premier League: From Pellegrini to Pep - Why the Engineer made City the ideal destination for Guardiola”, in Yahoo Sport
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Purported to be from the habit by after-dinner speakers of jotting a few notes on the cuff of the sleeve.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
German aus dem Stegreif, ohne nachzudenken
- aus dem Stegreifin an off-the-cuff manner
- ohne nachzudenkenin an off-the-cuff manner
- aus dem Standin an off-the-cuff manner
- aus dem Handgelenkin an off-the-cuff manner
Polish z miejsca, z marszu
- z miejscain an off-the-cuff manner
- z marszuin an off-the-cuff manner
Spanish impromptu
- impromptuin an off-the-cuff manner
Cite this entry
off the cuff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20cuff
“off the cuff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20cuff. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “off the cuff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20cuff.
Source: off the cuff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.