with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
off-the-cuff
How to use off-the-cuff in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for off-the-cuff.
Editorial note
Well, here's what I learned interviewing at google:Be very good at off-the-cuff 80% solutions to topcoder problems on a whiteboard, which I am.
Quick take
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of off-the-cuff gathered in one view.
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for off-the-cuff.
adjective
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
See also: ad-lib, extemporaneous, extemporary, extempore, impromptu, offhand, offhanded, unrehearsed
Example sentences
Well, here's what I learned interviewing at google:Be very good at off-the-cuff 80% solutions to topcoder problems on a whiteboard, which I am.
One of them proceeded to tell me that this can't possibly work, backing up his argument with "reasoning" based on off-the-cuff remarks about the way air and physics "must" work.
For those making off-the-cuff judgments of how crazy this idea is: In 1990 or so, Dave Ungar told me he was going to make his crazy Self language work at practical speed by using the crazy idea of running the compiler on every method call at runtime.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use off-the-cuff in a sentence?
Well, here's what I learned interviewing at google:Be very good at off-the-cuff 80% solutions to topcoder problems on a whiteboard, which I am.
What does off-the-cuff mean?
with little or no preparation or forethought; "his ad-lib comments showed poor judgment"; "an extemporaneous piano recital"; "an extemporary lecture"; "an extempore skit"; "an impromptu speech"; "offhand excuses"; "trying to sound offhanded and reassuring"; "an off-the-cuff toast"; "a few unrehearsed comments"
What part of speech is off-the-cuff?
off-the-cuff is commonly used as adjective.