Language: en
Meaning: (sports,of a competitor)Playingorcompetingbelow one'susuallevel ofperformance.c.1910,Ralph Henry Barbour, “The Dub”, inThe New Boy at Hilltop and Other Stories:One fellow I knew once wasoff his gamethe whole first half because some idiot was flying a kite over the field advertising some one's pills.1922,P. G. Wodehouse, “A Woman is only a Woman”, inThe Clicking of Cuthbert:Then the latter, as every golfer does at times, suddenly went rightoff his game.; (idiomatic,by extension)Performing in any activity below one's usual level;behavingin anirregular,inept, orawkwardmanner;feelingunwell.2008April 2, Tracy Connor, "'Mellow' shark dies,"Daily News(New York)(retrieved 9 Sep. 2008):Big Bertha, the crowd-pleasing sand tiger shark who survived an astonishing four decades at the New York Aquarium, has died. "She wasoff her game. She slowed down. She wasn't quite right," said Hans Walters, the animal department supervisor.2008July 28, Christopher Rocchio, “Aaron McCargo Jr. wins The Next Food Network Star's fourth season”, inReality TV World, retrieved9 September 2008:Adam found himself answering the viewer's questions while also trying to cook—which threw himoff his game.Antonym:on one's game
No examples available.
Validation Count: 0
Sourced from Wiktionary