off the track

prepositional phrase

Derailed, of a railway carriage, etc.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

prepositional phrase
  1. Derailed, of a railway carriage, etc.
  2. Away from the proper subject; irrelevant, unrelated.

    I shall have to tell Ralphie of this, lest he get any ideas. ¶ Okay, I’ve gotten completely off the track, so let’s get back to Earl, who had run into a roadblock in his desire to administer wedgies.

    2005, Annabelle du Fouet, “Toys for kinky girls and boys—It’s not just whips and chains anymore.” (chapter 3), in Weather Balloons Make Rotten Sex Toys, Ellora's Cave, →ISBN, page 53
  3. Not on right course; inaccurate.

    As for great men and kings being History's slaves, I think Tolstoi was off the track. Don't kid youself, kings are the most sublime sick. Manic Depressive heroes pull Mankind into their cycles and carry everybody away.

    1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 6

Translations

Finnish raiteiltaan, suistunut kiskoilta
  • raiteiltaanderailed
  • suistunut kiskoiltaderailed
  • asian vierestäaway from the proper subject; irrelevant, unrelated
  • puuta heinääaway from the proper subject; irrelevant, unrelated
  • hukassanot on right course; inaccurate
  • väärässänot on right course; inaccurate
  • metsässänot on right course; inaccurate
  • epätäsmällinennot on right course; inaccurate
Cite this entry
APA

off the track. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20track

MLA

“off the track.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20track. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “off the track,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/off%20the%20track.

Source: off the track on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.