OFFHAND

Definition: OFFHAND

OFFHAND

Adjective

1. Instant; ready; extemporaneous; as, an offhand speech; offhand excuses.

Adverb

1. In an offhand manner; as, he replied offhand.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
 

Date "OFFHAND" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1588. (references)

Earliness

Suddenly; (instantaneously); before one can say "Jack Robinson", at short notice, extempore; on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion; at once; on the spot, on the instant; at sight; offhand, out of hand; a' vue d'oeil; straight, straightway, straightforth; forthwith, incontinently, summarily, immediately, briefly, shortly, quickly, speedily, apace, before the ink is dry, almost immediately, presently at the first opportunity, in no long time, by and by, in a while, directly.

Impulse

Adverb: extempore, extemporaneously; offhand, impromptu, a limproviste; improviso; on the spur of the moment, on the spur of the occasion.

Inattention

Adjective: inattentive; unobservant, unmindful, heedless, unthinking, unheeding, undiscerning; inadvertent; mindless, regardless, respectless, listless; (indifferent); blind, deaf; bird-witted; hand over head; cursory, percursory; giddy-brained, scatter-brained, hare-brained; unreflective, unreflecting, ecervele; offhand; dizzy, muzzy, brainsick; giddy, giddy as a goose; wild, harum-scarum, rantipole, highflying; heedless, careless; (neglectful).

Neglect

Inconsiderate; uncircumspect, incircumspect; off one's guard; unwary, unwatchful, unguarded; offhand.

Crosswords: OFFHAND

Offhand, I'd say it's the Court of Ankle-Deep Sewage (The Hunchback of Notre Dame; writing credit: Victor Hugo; Irene Mecchi)

Though offhand I cannot think of what they are but I'm sure there must be something (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory; writing credit: Roald Dahl)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Short, Offhand, Killing Affair: Soldiers and Social Conflict during the Mexican-American War (reference)

• Etc.: Firsthand Observations and Offhand Opinions (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "OFFHAND": offhand speech ♦ say smth. in an offhand manner. Additional references.

Albanian

menjëherë (abruptly, at once, away, directly, forthright, forthwith, immediately, impulsively, incontinently, instantly, just now, momentarily, momently, now, offhandedly, on the spot, on the spur of the moment, out of hand, pronto, right away, straight away, therewith), i çastit (extemporary, flashy, instant, instantaneous, momentary, offhanded). (various references)

Bulgarian 

рязък (abrupt, acid, bitter, brief, brusque, curt, gravelly, hard, incisive, jarring, jerky, metallic, pipy, point blank, rapid, rude, sharp, short, short-spoken, shrill, snappish, snappy, snippy, stark, straight out, strident, trenchant), грубо (baldly, grossly, rough, roughly, shortly), надменен (airy, aloof, arrogant, assuming, assumptive, contemptuous, cool, disdainful, haughty, high, high and mighty, imperious, lofty, offish, overbearing, overweening, prideful, proud, proud-stomached, remote, scornful, stand offish, stiff, stuck up, sublime, supercilious, superior, top-lofty, uppish), безцеремонно (offhandedly, summarily, without further ceremony), безцеремонен (abrupt, blunt, brusque, gay, offhanded, summary, unceremonious), импровизирано (extemporary, extempore), импровизиран (candid, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, improvised, makeshift, off the cuff, rough and ready, scratch, unpremeditated). (various references)

Chinese 

临时 (off-hand, Provisional, temporary). (various references)

Czech

okamžitì (at once, at the drop of the hat, directly, here and now, immediately, in no time, instantly, like a shot, on the spot, right away, straight away), spatra (extempore), rovnou (directly, downright, plump, point blank, right, straight, straight away), pohotový (adroit, nimble, Pat, prompt, quick, ready, swift), nedbalý (careless, casual, lax, neglectful, negligent, remiss, slack, sloppy, slovenly, unmindful), improvizovaný (ad lib, impromptu, improvised, scratch, unprepared, unrehearsed), hned (at once, immediately, in no time, now, very), drsný (abrasive, broad, coarse, crude, grating, gruff, harsh, heavy, inclement, intemperate, leathery, ragged, raucous, raw, rigorous, rough, ruddy, scabrous, severe, stark, unkind), bez přípravy (ad lib), bez okolkù, úseèný (brief, crisp, curt, incisive, short, short-spoken, succinct). (various references)

Danish

haandarbejde (free blowing, offhand process, off-hand working), blaest uden form (chair work, free-blown glass, offhand glass, off-hand glass), blaest paa fri haand (chair work, free-blown glass, offhand glass, off-hand glass), arbejde paa fri haand (free blowing, offhand process, off-hand working). (various references)

Dutch

mondgeblazen (chair work, free-blown glass, offhand glass, off-hand glass), handvervaardiging zonder vorm (free blowing, offhand process, off-hand working), handbewerkt (chair work, free-blown glass, offhand glass, off-hand glass), bankwerk (free blowing, offhand process, off-hand working). (various references)

Farsi 

بی تامل , بدون مقدمه , بدون تهیه , بداهه . (various references)

Finnish

suoralta kädeltä (off hand, off-the-cuff, straight off, straight out of hand), ilman muuta (right off, straightway, without any more ado). (various references)

French

dégagé, cavalier. (various references)

German

schnoddrig (brash, rude), lässig (airy, careless, carelessly, casual, cool, easy going, languid, languidly, negligently, nonchalant, nonchalantly, remiss, remissly), freihändig (freehand, without hands, without holding on), brüsk (abrupt, abruptly, brusque, brusquely, curt, unceremonious), aus dem Handgelenk. (various references)

Greek 

απότομοσ (abrupt, bluff, blunt, brusque, curt, jerky, plump, rugged, steep), αυτοσχέδιοσ (extemporaneous, extemporary, impromptu, improvised). (various references)

Hebrew 

ללא �"כ� �" מוק�"מת, כלאחר י�" (by the way, casual, casually, incidentally, perfunctory), בערך (about, approximately, around, roughly, thereabouts). (various references)

Indonesian

begitu saja (casually). (various references)

Italian

spontaneo (careless, cavalierly, natural, offhanded, offhandedly, spontaneous, unaffected, unforced, unstudied, voluntary), senza cerimonie (informally, offhanded), secco (arid, dried, dry, offhanded, sharp, short, skinny, thin, withered), lì per lì (at first), in modo spiccio (offhanded), improvvisato (extemporary, extempore, impromptu, improvised, makeshift, offhanded), estemporaneo, improvvisato (offhanded, offhandedly), estemporaneo (extemporaneous, extemporary, impromptu, improvises), estemporaneamente (offhanded), disinvolto (casual, easy, informally, jaunty, laid back), brusco (abrupt, bluff, blunt, brusque, brutal, cavalier, downright, gruff, harsh, offhanded, outspoken, rough, sharp, short, sour, sullen, surly, unkind, unpleasant), all'improvviso (offhanded, offhandedly). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

手軽 (cheap, easy, informal, simple), 俄か (abrupt, improvised, sudden, unexpected), 俄 (abrupt, improvised, sudden, unexpected). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

にわか (abrupt, improvised, sudden, unexpected), てがる (cheap, easy, informal, simple). (various references)

Manx

neu-ullee (unconversant), neuchooishagh (casual, perfunctory), gyn aarlaghey (extempore, extemporise, impromptu, undressed). (various references)

Pig Latin

offhanday.(various references)

Portuguese

sem preparação (cavalier, familiarly, offhanded, unprepared). (various references)

Russian 

экспромтом импровизированный (impromptu), экспромтом (extemporaneously, impromptu, out of hand), бесцеремонный (cavalier, offhanded, presumptuous, pushy, snippy, unceremonious), импровизированно (extempore). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

smesta (immediately, offhandedly, once: at once, straightway), na brzu ruku (hurriedly, impromptu, offhanded, offhandedly, slapdash), improvizovano (ad lib, off the cuff), improvizovan (extemporary, extempore, improvised, makeshift), bez pripreme (extempore, impromptu). (various references)

Spanish

de improviso (extempore, impromptu). (various references)

Swedish

oförberedd (extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, off hand, off the cuff, offhanded, unprepared, unprovided, unrehearsed), utan vidare (off hand, outright), slarvigt (anyhow, anyway, carelessly, off hand, offhandedly, slapdash), slarvig (careless, down at heel, fribble, frivolous, inattentive, off hand, offhanded, shoddy, slapdash, sloppy, slovenly, slutish, untidy), på rak arm (off hand, off-hand), nonchalant (airy, casual, casually, cavalier, flippant, jaunty, lackadaisical, off hand, offhanded). (various references)

Turkish

rasgele (aimlessly, at a venture, at haphazard, at random, by chance, desultory, freehand, haphazard, haphazardly, hit or miss, hit-and-miss, indiscriminate, promiscuous, random, scratch, stray, wild), nezaketsiz (brusque, crude, discourteous, disrespectful, impolite, indelicate, rude, short-spoken, unchivalrous, uncivil, unkind), laubali (cavalier, familiar, informal, reckless, too familiar, unbuttoned, unceremonious, unconventional), kaba (abrupt, barbarous, base, bearish, boorish, brusque, brutal, brutish, churlish, clodhopping, coarse, coarse grained, common, crass, crude, discourteous, disobliging, disrespectful, doric, foul, graceless, gross, gruff, gutter, hard-hitting, harsh, heavy, hobnailed, hoggish, ill bred, ill mannered, impolite, incondite, indelicate, inelegant, loud, loutish, offhanded, ornery, puffy, rank, rough, rough-hewn, roughly, rude, rugged, rustic, short-spoken, splay, swinish, tactless, unceremonious, unchivalrous, uncivil, uncomplaisant, uncomplimentary, uncouth, underbred, unfinished, ungainly, ungalant, ungentle, ungentlemanlike, ungentlemanly, ungraceful, ungracious, unmannerly, unparliamentary, unpolished, unrefined, vulgar), hazırlıksız olarak (off the cuff, on the spur of the moment, unpreparedly), hazırlıksız (at half cock, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, incautious, off the cuff, offhanded, unprepared, unprovided, unprovided for, unready, unrehearsed), düşüncesizce yapılmış (hasty, offhanded, unconsidered, unguarded), düşüncesizce (blindfold, carelessly, headfirst, headforemost, headlong, ill-considered, impulsively, rashly, tactlessly, thoughtlessly). (various references)

Ukrainian

імпровізований (extemporaneous, impromptu, improvised, off the cuff, offhanded, soapbox), грубий (abrupt, artless, barbaresque, barbaric, base, bearish, boarish, broad, brusque, brute, caddish, chuffy, churlish, clownish, clumsy, coarse, coarse grained, crass, crude, gross, hard boiled, homely, ill bred, knockabout, plebeian, primitive, ribald, rough, rough spoken, rude, scratchy, shaggy, surly, swinish, truculent, uncouth), нашвидкуруч (offhandedly), зроблений експромтом (offhanded), зроблений без підготовки (offhanded), зараз же (at short notice, forthwith, incontinently, just now, like a shot, right now, then and there), експромтом (cold, extempore, impromptu), безцеремонно (offhandedly), безцеремонний (brusque, cavalier, cheeky, offhanded, presumptuous, snippy, unceremonious), без підготовки. (various references)

ex tempore. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "OFFHAND": offhanded, offhandedly, offhandedness, offhandednesses. (additional references)

Misspellings

"OFFHAND" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Fofanny, offan, Offham. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: handoff.

-2 letters: honda.

-3 letters: daff, doff, dona, fado, fano, fohn, fond, hand.

-4 letters: ado, aff, and, dah, don, fad, fan, foh, fon, had, hao, hod, hon, nah, nod, noh, oaf, off.

-5 letters: ad, ah, an, do, fa, ha, ho, na, no, od, of, oh, on.

+1 letter: handoffs.

+2 letters: offhanded.

+3 letters: chiffonade.

+4 letters: chiffonades, offhandedly, standoffish.