Question about a phrase - sign off

Question

HiI came across to read a sentence containing a phrase 'sign off.' My question is - generally what does the meaning of sign off? I look up the dictionary at hand, but couldn't find a good explain. Also in the Cambridge online - http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=95881&dict=CALD, this seems not explain the sentence what I have seen (Maybe that is because my poor comprehension to English.) The sentence appears in a letter. A asks B to verify if something works (It appears like a procedure for QA). If that works then they can move it to the next step. However, B replies that it is pointless for him to verify because it still requires C to prove it works. The sentence looks like 'It is pointless for me to verify whether it works or not because it still requires C to sign off.' Does the phrase `sign off' mean `prove'? (Sorry I can not remember exactly the whole sentence right now as I do not have that letter at hand.)Thanks in advice.

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi I came across to read a sentence containing a phrase 'sign off.' My question is - generally what does ... (Sorry I can not remember exactly the whole sentence right now as I do not have that letter at hand.)[/nq]
It just means "approve". C has some function in the process, and he must approve of the project, or what's been done, before it can go to the next step. What is involved in approval will vary according to C's job. C may have to do some extensive testing, or C may have to approve of an expenditure involved, or C might not have to do anything other than say it's OK to proceed as far as he is concerned.

"Signing off" on something can be a verbal OK or an initialing of some paperwork.

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Hi I came across to read a sentence containing a ... now as I do not have that letter at hand.)[/nq]
[nq:1]It just means "approve". C has some function in the process, and he must approve of the project, or what's ... far as he is concerned. "Signing off" on something can be a verbal OK or an initialing of some paperwork.[/nq]
Yes. "Sign off" comes from the idea of the person signing his or her name:

I approve this proposal.
Signed: Joe Plumbago

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi I came across to read a sentence containing a phrase 'sign off.' My question is - generally what does ... A asks B to verify if something works (It appears like a procedure for QA). If that works then they[/nq]
What is QA? I would think you would, more than most, appreciate the problem of using obscure abbreviations.
[nq:1]can move it to the next step. However, B replies that it is pointless for him to verify because it ... whether it works or not because it still requires C to sign off.' Does the phrase `sign off' mean `prove'?[/nq]
In this situation it means to sign a piece of paper, or however this is done now using computers, that says "it's okay with me and the rules I'm supposed to enforce". There might be a safety inspector who signs off on the safety aspects of something, someone like C who signs off that the device actually works, a lawyer who analyses an advertisement for potential legal problems and signs off that he can't find any.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What is QA? I would think you would, more than most, appreciate the problem of using obscure abbreviations.[/nq]
Obscure to some perhaps. I think that other people here will be all too aware of the meaning of QA: Quality Assurance.

Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.english.usage)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What is QA? I would think you would, more than most, appreciate the problem of using obscure abbreviations.[/nq]
[nq:1]Obscure to some perhaps. I think that other people here will be all too aware of the meaning of QA: Quality Assurance.[/nq]
Often designated as "QC" (quality control) in the US. I would rather be assured of quality than have them control it, but that's the way it is.

Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Obscure to some perhaps. I think that other people here will be all too aware of the meaning of QA: Quality Assurance.[/nq]
[nq:1]Often designated as "QC" (quality control) in the US.[/nq]
yES, THAT'S what I call it.
[nq:1]I would rather be assured of quality than have them control it, but that's the way it is.[/nq]
Reminds me of the cartoon I saw, The guy in coveralls was in the kitchen carrying some equipment, and on his back was written Acme Pest Control. Before him were some cockroaches marching rank and file, 10 by 10 maybe, then another group of 100 following behind, and the housewife was standing there looking alarmed. The man says to her, "We don't kill them, Lady. We just control them."

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Obscure to some perhaps. I think that other people here will be all too aware of the meaning of QA: Quality Assurance.[/nq]
[nq:1]Often designated as "QC" (quality control) in the US. I would rather be assured of quality than have them control it, but that's the way it is.[/nq]
TQM is quite popular in Canadian corporatese these days: "Total Quality Management". It seems to be related to ISO 900x certification.

Odysseus

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Often designated as "QC" (quality control) in the US. I ... have them control it, but that's the way it is.[/nq]
[nq:1]TQM is quite popular in Canadian corporatese these days: "Total Quality Management". It seems to be related to ISO 900x certification.[/nq]
The company which I worked for sent all its employees on a two-day seminar/jolly on TQM. We all decided that it was essentially a TWOT (total waste of time).

Ian

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What is QA? I would think you would, more than most, appreciate the problem of using obscure abbreviations.[/nq]
[nq:1]Obscure to some perhaps. I think that other people here will be all too aware of the meaning of QA: Quality Assurance.[/nq]
If you could choose a number for the proportion of readers who would be unable to read your postings with understanding, what fraction would you choose? Would you be content with knowing, for example, that no more than half would be baffled by esoteric abbreviations and go on to the next posting without trying to understand yours?

I, for one, had not been aware of any meaning to attach to "QA".

Putting myself in the position of one who might make a determined effort to try to understand your posting by looking in a table of abbreviations, I look first at "Intro B" (Useful Web sites for AUE participants) at the alt.usage.english Web site, where I find a link to "acronyms and abbreviations". I look there for "QA" with hope that turns to disappointment.
I then Google on "Table of Abbreviations". I get 155,000 hits. After looking at about a dozen of them without finding "QA", I decide that further pursuit of that approach is not worth the effort.

It then occurs to me that there might be a Wikipedia article discussing "QA". That approach is fruitful.
Suppose a few dozen readers had made that sort of effort to understand what you meant. Compare that total effort to the amount of effort it would have taken you to write "Quality Assurance" instead of "QA" to begin with.
We're led, of course, to the question of how many readers will know what "quality assurance" means. That number is almost certainly greater than the number who will know what "QA" stands for, but I suggest that we leave discussion of that question for another time.
Bob Cunningham, Southern California, USA. Western American English

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]As far as I know, ISO 9000 is equivalent to ... car that somebody had forgotten to put the wheels on.[/nq]
[nq:1]Was that in AUE in which we just finished discussing "QA v QC"? Times they are a-changing.[/nq]
I once ventured the opinion that some products were definitely "QC". The quality was certainly controlled well enough to keep it below a satisfactory level.

Ian

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