off-key

[ awf-kee, of- ]

/ ˈɔfˈki, ˈɒf- /

deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune.

Informal. somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous.

Origin of off-key

First recorded in 1925–30

The jibe is off-key too because Wilde himself was hardly immune to the sentimental and even the mawkish.

Charles Dickens' Enduring Insights on Human Loss and Suffering |David Frum |February 18, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
“Bring the drugs baby, I can bring my pain,” The Weeknd sings in his beauteous, soaring voice, backed by off-key sonic beats.

Best Music Albums of 2011: The Weeknd, Drake, Britney Spears, and More |Marlow Stern |December 31, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
"I would've jumped out a window if it were on a higher floor," he says of an off-key information session we sit in on.

The Great College Road Trip |Nick Summers |April 8, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Many of our performances in these early months after our defeat last November will be off-key and lacking in polish.

The Trouble With Operation Rushbo |Nicolle Wallace |March 5, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

I knew it was just about time for some kind of an off-key noise from you, you grouchy old leftover.

At Good Old Siwash |George Fitch
It sounded off-key because it was as off-key as a ten-yard-strip of baldfaced perjury.

Highways in Hiding |George Oliver Smith
There was a rattle of drums and the blare of one or two off-key instruments from outside.

Narakan Rifles, About Face! |Jan Smith
A woman played a wheezing organ while a man led the off-key singing.

Clue of the Silken Ladder |Mildred A. Wirt
The thing in the middle now opened its mouth and made a noise that reminded Full of an off-key clarinet.

The Enormous Room |Horace Leonard Gold