Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

off the hook

Of a telephone, having an open connection; not hung up.

Etymology:

  • An allusion to a fish caught on the hook of a fishing line.
  • Referring to the candlestick phone, which in order to hang up, the receiver must be hung on a hook. Leaving the receiver off the hook would prevent it from being able to receive calls.
8 Views
“

I think he left the phone off the hook so that nobody would call him.

Collection   Edit    

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'off the hook':

off the hookPerforming extraordinarily well.
off the hookRelieved of a duty, burden, responsibility, or pressure.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the off the hook phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to off the hook

off the gridoff the radaroff the railsoff the railsoff the beaten trackoff the wagonoff the deep endoff the railsoff to the racesoff the chartsoff the chainoff the chainoff the markoff the grid

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this off the hook phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this off the hook definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "off the hook." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/off-the-hook_5631>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    You're choosing to sit on the _______ if you don't pick a side.
    A stairs
    B bank
    C fence
    D horse

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ