off-the-wall

[ awf-thuh-wawl, of- ]
/ ˈɔf ðəˈwɔl, ˈɒf- /

adjective Informal.

markedly unconventional; bizarre; oddball: an unpredictable, off-the-wall personality.

Origin of off-the-wall

First recorded in 1970–75

Definition for off the wall (2 of 2)

wall
[ wawl ]
/ wɔl /

noun

adjective

verb (used with object)

Origin of wall

before 900; (noun) Middle English; Old English w(e)all < Latin vallum palisade, derivative of vallus stake, post; see wale1; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun

OTHER WORDS FROM wall

wall-less, adjective wall-like, adjective un·wall, verb (used with object)

British Dictionary definitions for off the wall (1 of 2)

wall
/ (wɔːl) /

noun

verb (tr)

Derived forms of wall

walled, adjective wall-less, adjective wall-like, adjective

Word Origin for wall

Old English weall, from Latin vallum palisade, from vallus stake

British Dictionary definitions for off the wall (2 of 2)

off-the-wall

adjective

(off the wall when postpositive) slang new or unexpected in an unconventional or eccentric way an off-the-wall approach to humour

Word Origin for off-the-wall

C20: possibly from the use of the phrase in handball and squash to describe a shot that is unexpected

Medical definitions for off the wall

wall
[ wôl ]

n.

An investing part enclosing a cavity, chamber, or other anatomical unit.

Idioms and Phrases with off the wall (1 of 2)

off the wall

Eccentric, unconventional, as in That idea of opening a 100-seat theater is off the wall. This expression probably originated in baseball or some other sport in which the ball can bounce off a wall in an erratic way. [Colloquial; 1960s]

Idioms and Phrases with off the wall (2 of 2)

wall