OFF SOMEONE'S BACK Definition & Meaning

off someone's back

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Idioms and Phrases

Also off someone's case . No longer harassing or bothering someone. It is often put as get off someone's back or case , as in I told her to get off my back—I'll mow the lawn tomorrow , or I wish Dad would get off my case about grades . The first of these slangy terms dates from the 1880s although it became frequent only in the 1940s, and its antonym, on one's back (as in He's been on my back about that report all morning ) dates from about 1960. The variant off someone's case was first recorded only in 1970, and its antonym, on someone's case (as in He's always on my case ) in 1971. Also see get off , def. 8.

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

“They could probably get a seizure order for an inventory of jackets in a warehouse somewhere,” Rosenberg said, “but what happens six months from now when a motorcyclist is pulled over for wearing his jacket that he was given permission to wear by the club when they owned the trademark? I have never heard of trademark law being used to take the clothing off someone’s back.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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