Off or off of

Question

Hello,Which is the correct usage: "off of" or "off""My mom was let off of the jury." or "My mom was let off the jury." "He jumped off the chair." or "He jumped off of the chair."Is there an occasion where both of these constructs could be correct?Thank you

Usenet · Accepted Answer

This one was fun.
My American ear agrees, Owain.
I've never heard a university-educated Briton say "off of," and I've heard hundreds of university-educated Americans say it.

I would have bet good money that it was a pure Americanism.
Then I went to my books and found that, like so many other forms, "off of" is an old British form that is now considered wrong but has survived in the States.
References:
The phrase in this context first appears in Shakespeare, has been dying out in the UK since the late 1800s, and by the beginning of the twentieth century was considered non-standard. In the US, the usage survives and is acceptable, although it is not fully respectable.

(Paraphrased summary of article in Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage ), 1994
"off of is still strongly present in the language of the less well educated but is indisputably non-standard in Britain."

(excerpt of "off of" article, The New Fowler's Modern English Usage , revised 3rd edition, 1998)
"'In American English, off of 'is widespread in speech, including that of the educated...but is rare in edited writing.'"

(Quote from Random House Webster's College Dictionary , 1991 in Fowler ibidem (I do not own this book but most science editors in the States would))
OFF - "Never put 'of' after this word"
The Chicago Manual of Style , 15th edition, 2003
Chicago is known as being the most pricklish of American style manuals, possibly because it isn't really a style manual but a guide on U. Chicago house style.
Last, but not least in an OED Online Draft Revision for March 2004, the first citation has been put back to "circa 1450."
Go figure!

Usenet · Answer

The correct usage routinely knocks off the "of" after "off": "My mom was let off the jury." "He jumped off the chair." In no instance would "off" and "off of" be both correct.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The correct usage routinely knocks off the "of" after "off": "My mom was let off the jury." "He jumped off the chair." In no instance would "off" and "off of" be both correct.[/nq]
I'm afraid that this is not the case. See the references given by credoquaabsurdum - "off of" is acceptable American usage and was common in Britain but is no longer regarded as acceptable.

Regards, Einde O'Callaghan

Usenet · Answer

Thanks, Einde.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Thanks, Einde.[/nq]
Don't mention it. When you talk sense, you certainly talk sense. ;-)

Best, Einde

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