Offhand

Offhand

Adjective / Adverb · /ˌɒfˈhænd/

Definition

(Adjective) ungraciously casual or cool in manner; seeming rude or dismissive through lack of consideration; done without previous thought or preparation; (Adverb) without previous thought or preparation; casually; extempore: I can't say offhand how many there are.

Origin

From off (away, without) + hand. The adverbial sense — without taking the matter in hand, without preparation, off the top of one's head — appearing from the seventeenth century: answered offhand, spoke offhand. The adjectival sense — behaving as if not taking something in hand, i.e. dismissively casually — developing later. The underlying metaphor being of not picking something up properly: offhand meaning without grasping, without full engagement — dealing with something at arm's length, without the care of properly taking it in hand.