What does "get off the mark mean"?

In this context it means to score for the first time...

Hope that helps...

Tam

Suggest searching for your idioms at this site:
http://www.answers.com/topic/quick-off-the-mark

"Quick off the mark" doesn't mean the same as is "get off the mark"...

Personally I'd suggest you look for the idiom you mentioned i.e. "get+off+the+mark" here...

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/get+off+the+mark

Mind you it does say it's British and Australian...

Get off the mark also means IMO to start
and is of course only
related to
quick off the mark
(which indicates quickness in starting)

It means to start because you're leaving the starting blocks/marks in a running race.

The site I mentioned shows:
quick off the mark
which I see as
quick (to get) off

Yes it also has those meaning as well Marius, but we're not talking what it could mean... We're talking what it does mean in this context... i.e. football/soccer.

Look at the poster's question:

"I'd like to know what "get off the mark" means in this context;

Gerrard scored 23 times last season for the Reds, but took 16 games to get off the mark this time around, finall

Your interpretation is applied to a more limited case, to start scoring, and is correct of course.

I think I've provided an answer which is more general in purpose.

The readers will chose whatever information they want.

I agree that you have supplied a very extensive answer Marius, and it is often very useful to make learners aware of the multiple possibilities in the meaning of lexis...

However, as I said, I think a more concise context-based answer is more appropriate in this case...

Regards

Tam