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Meantolearn Posted 19 years ago
Vocabulary

alarm went off

0The alarm goes off when it makes a lot of noises.02br
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00But, doesn't "off" mean not functioning? It seems the alarm works fine, if not it wouldn't make a lot of noises. right?02br
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00Can anyone explain what "01b00off02b00" here means?02br
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00Thanks,0-
  

Top answer

12br 12br 10But, doesn't "off" mean not functioning? It seems the alarm works fine, if not it wouldn't make a lot of noises. 12br 12br 10Thanks,12br 12blockquote 11font 00The sentence in question is a bit awkward and quite confusing.

— Philip

  • 12br 12br 10But, doesn't "off" mean not functioning?
  • It seems the alarm works fine, if not it wouldn't make a lot of noises.
  • 12br 12br 10Thanks,12br 12blockquote 11font 00The sentence in question is a bit awkward and quite confusing.
  • 02font 00 0-
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13 Answers
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0 01blockquote
01cite10Meantolearn12cite10The alarm goes off when it makes a lot of noises.12br
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10But, doesn't "off" mean not functioning? It seems the alarm works fine, if not it wouldn't make a lot of noises. right?12br
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10Can anyone explain what "11b10off12b10" here means?12
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0"Off" has a lot of meanings.02br
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00If I TURN it off, or it IS off, then it's not enabled. But if it GOES off, then it is not only activated, something has triggered it. At least, for alarms. This is fairly idiomatic, and I realize it doesn't make a lot of sense. 050010id6
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0Hi GG,02br
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00Thanks again.02br
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00I think you got my point.02br
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00When someone turns the alarm off, they wouldn't hear the alarm noises even though a burglar breaks into their house. 02br
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00But, when someone turns the alarm back on, you would hear the alarm noises if a burglar breaks into their ho
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1h2

02h2

00=02br
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00"The plan went off like a clockwork."02br
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00One more example found in Da Vinci Code.02br
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00"Went off" means happened, right?02br
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00Thanks,0-
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0Yes, took place, happened.02br
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00I went just like it was supposed to, very smoothly.0-
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0Hi, GG.02br
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00I suppose there's a typo in your reply.02br
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00I went just like it... ----> 01b00It02b00 went just like it was supposed to, very smoothly.02br
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00Thanks for the reply,.0-
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0Yes, indeed, a Typo. I told you I spoke it fluently 050010id5
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0Hi, GG.02br
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00"Barbara, fluent in both American English and Typo"02br
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00I thought "Typo" was a language. Now I know what you've been trying to say. Very funny!02br
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050010id2
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Hey guys! I have a Theory for this matter... I was always confused by this expression too: The alarm went off... The fact is, you have to understand how an alarm works in order to get it, I think. An alarm is a circuit where the detectors are switches, or so... when a smoke detector detects smoke it opens the circuit causing it to go off... So, I think that is what is meant when you say: "The ala
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To go off in this sense is related to the expression to set off, meaning to start or to be started. It implies that the subject was in a state of rest, then moved off from that state into action. The phrasal verb to go on already has the meaning of to continue.

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