Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

off the hook

Relieved of a duty, burden, responsibility, or pressure.

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.
15 Views

Without any evidence, the police had to let the suspect off the hook.

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'off the hook':

off the hookOf a telephone, having an open connection; not hung up.
off the hookPerforming extraordinarily well.
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

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. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/off-the-hook_5633>.

    We need you!

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

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    He's a real penny __________
    A pincher
    B hussler
    C fiddler
    D pusher

    Browse Phrases.com