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Henry74 Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Go off

Hello,

This is a line I just heard on Downton Abbey:

[Mr. Bates to Mrs. Bates] - And Mr. Green? Have you gone off him? You liked him so much when he first came; you thought he was funny.

I was wondering whether "go off somebody" in the sense shown above was old-fashioned or commonly used nowadays.
I'd like to incorporate it into my repertoire for its intuitive immediacy, but one can never be too careful about picking up stuff from old sources.

Thank you
H.
  

Top answer

This isn't common nowadays. It can also be misused easily..... For example: if you "go off on somebody" that can mean you are extremely angry and have exploded in a fit of rage at them.

— Anonymous

  • This isn't common nowadays.
  • It can also be misused easily.....
  • For example: if you "go off on somebody" that can mean you are extremely angry and have exploded in a fit of rage at them.
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10 Answers
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This isn't common nowadays. It can also be misused easily..... For example: if you "go off on somebody" that can mean you are extremely angry and have exploded in a fit of rage at them.
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"go off somebody" This seems normal and common to me here in Canada.

Also 'go off something', eg I've gone off TV.


Clive
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All right then. Thanks Clive.

H.
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"go off" in this sense is also normal and common in the UK.
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This is not used in AmE at all. In the U.S. go off means to explode, typically in a burst of anger. It is not used in this manner. The AmE equivalent would probably be over, or get over, or quit. "Have you gotten over him?" "Are you over him?"
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KJinCali79This is not used in AmE at all. In the U.S. go off means to explode, typically in a burst of anger. It is not used in this manner. The AmE equivalent would probably be over, or get over, or quit. "Have you gotten over him?" "Are you over him?"
"go off" doesn't mean "get over" in BrE, it means to come to dislike something that you previously liked.
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GPY"go off" doesn't mean "get over" in BrE, it means to come to dislike something that you previously liked.
That's how I was using it.

I was very interested in buying this house, but now I've gotten over (or I am over) the idea.

Perhaps this is a unique case in AmE because of the presence of the past participle "gotten" and its distinct use
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KJinCali79That's how I was using it.I was very interested in buying this house, but now I've gotten over (or I am over) the idea. Perhaps this is a unique case in AmE because of the presence of the past participle "gotten" and its distinct uses when compared to have/has got.
In BrE there is fair difference between "get over" and "go off".
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GPYIn BrE there is fair difference between "get over" and "go off".
Yes, I would think so.

Alas, once again, two countries separated by a common language. :-)
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