A tough old cowboy told his grandson that if he wanted to live a long life, the secret was to sprinkle a little gunpowder on his oatmeal every morning. The grandson did this religiously, and lived to the age of 93.
When he died he left 14 children, 28 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren… and a 15-foot hole in the wall of the crematorium.
- white adj. & n. (as adj. Often hyphenated) white with a grey or yellowish tinge.
- —adv. - away; at or to a distance (drove off; 3 miles off).
- out of position; not on, touching, or attached; loose, separate, gone (has come off; take your coat off).
- so as to be rid of (sleep it off).
- so as to break continuity or continuance; discontinued, stopped (turn off the radio; take a day off; the game is off).
- not available on a menu etc. (chips are off).
- to the end; entirely; so as to be clear (clear off; finish off; pay off).
- situated as regards money, supplies, etc. (well off).
- off stage (noises off).
- (of food etc.) Beginning to decay. —prep. - a from; away, down, or up from (fell off the chair; took something off the price). B not on (off the pitch).
- a temporarily relieved of or abstaining from (off duty). B temporarily not attracted by (off his food). C not achieving (off form).
- using as a source or means of support (live off the land).
- leading from; not far from (a street off the strand).
- at a short distance to sea from (sank off cape horn). —adj. - far, further (off side of the wall).
- (of a part of a vehicle, animal, or road) right (the off front wheel).
- cricket designating the half of the field (as divided lengthways through the pitch) to which the striker's feet are pointed.
- colloq. A annoying, unfair (that's really off). B somewhat unwell (feeling a bit off). —n. - the off side in cricket.
- start of a race. off and on intermittently; now and then. Off the cuff see *cuff1. Off the peg see *peg. [var. Of *of]
