to push off
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To commence the game, the operations, etc. A phrase from boating — one starts by pushing the boat off from the bank. Push off! said imperatively, is equivalent to "Get you gone!" "Go to the devil!
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to push off” mean?
To commence the game, the operations, etc. A phrase from boating — one starts by pushing the boat off from the bank. Push off! said imperatively, is equivalent to "Get you gone!" "Go to the devil!
Is “to push off” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.