A week ago, a 14-year-old student emailed me a short story with this request: “Sir, please read my story and let me know your comment on it.” While going through the story I came across this sentence: The gangsters offed the police officer and threw his body in a pond.
It is easy to guess the meaning of the word ‘off’ from the context. Surprised, I wrote back to the young writer what he meant by the term ‘offed’. He replied, “Sir, it means to slay. I came across the word in a comic book.”
Can the word ‘off’ be used as a verb? Yes. According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, ‘off’ can be used as a verb in American English and the slang expression means ‘to kill someone’.
This is the example sentence given in the dictionary: They offed him and dumped his body in the swamp.
As ‘off’ is not used as a verb in British English, it is not advisable to use the American slang expression in the Indian context. It is a common error to use ‘off’ as a verb to mean ‘out of operation’ as in the following sentences:
Incorrect: I asked him to off the light. (used as a verb)
Incorrect: Why don’t you off the AC? (used as a verb)
Correct: I asked him to switch the light off. (adverb)
Correct: Why don’t you switch the AC off? (adverb)
The word ‘off’ can be used as an adverb, as a preposition or as an adjective. For example:
• He dozed off during the meeting. (adverb)
• I had a migraine this morning, but soon it passed off. (adverb)
• I’ll be off duty for the next three days. (preposition)
• She stays in the working women’s hostel off the main road. (preposition)
• He must realize that he is off on that point. (adjective)
• Your rental agreement is off. (adjective).
A reader from Coimbatore sent this query: “Is it wrong to end a sentence with a preposition?”
It is one of many grammar myths to say that it is wrong to end a sentence with a preposition. Here are examples of sentences that end with a preposition:
• Do you want to know where I come from?
• The MC displayed the humor and wit he is known for.
• What word are you going to look up? (phrasal verb)
• I wish I could cheer up. (phrasal verb)
Here is a joke for you:
A small-town country boy gets a scholarship to Harvard. During his first week on campus, when he’s still learning to get around the place, he’s trying to find the library to meet up with a study group.
While wandering around, he sees an older, distinguished-looking man walking by. Figuring that the man is a professor, or otherwise associated with the school, he decides to ask him for directions.
“Excuse me,” he asks, “Do you know where the library is at?”
The man stops, looks at him, and sniffs, “Son, at Harvard we do not end a sentence with a preposition”.
“OK. Do you know where the library is at, old man?” (http://www.getfrank.co.nz/funny-jokes/preposition).