off (the) track
off (the) track
1. Inaccurate, irrelevant, or inconsequential. I appreciate your concerns, but I think they're a bit off track.
2. Straying from the central topic, issue, or subject at hand. Sorry, I started talking about surfing and got off track. You're off the track again, Mom. Try to finish the story.
3. Not faithful to or distracted from a central principle, goal, mission, etc. Somewhere along the lines, our organization got off the track from what we have always striven to achieve. We are going to fix that, starting now. We wanted to have the product released by the early spring, but we got off track with a number of technical issues.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
off the track
1. Go to off the (beaten) track.
2. Fig. [of comments] irrelevant and immaterial. I'm afraid you're off the track, John. Try again. I'm sorry. I was thinking about dinner, and I got off the track.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
off the track
Away from one's objective, train of thought, or a sequence of events, It is often put as get or put or throw off the track , as in Your question has gotten me off the track, or The interruption threw Mom off the track and she forgot what she'd already put into the stew . This term comes from railroading, where it means "derailed." Its figurative use was first recorded in 1875.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
off the track
mod. not on a productive course; following the wrong lead. You are off the track just a little. Let me help you.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.