off course


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off course

1. Literally, in the wrong direction or away from the intended course. Could you check the map? I think we're a bit off course.
2. By extension, going against or straying away from an established plan or the correct or intended course of action. I got a little off course after my girlfriend broke up with me, so I'm trying to get refocused on my studies. This project is so off course that I don't know if it's worth continuing.
See also: course, off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*off course

 
1. Lit. not going in the right direction. (*Typically: be ~; drift ~; get ~.) The ship is off course and may strike the reef!
2. Fig. not following the plan correctly. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) The project is off course and won't be finished on time. l am off course and doing poorly.
See also: course, off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

off course

Away from the planned or intended course.
See also: course, off
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
ARNOLD PALMER On course [euro]0 Off course [euro]34,476,200 Total [euro]34,476,200
PADRAIG: HOLE LOT OF MONEY MAKES ME FEEL BAD; Sport legend 'guilty' about wealth
Fiona said: "The development and resulting tour of A Little Bird Blown Off Course was a dream come true for me and could only have been improved upon by being given the chance to showcase Margaret Fay Shaw's work to a bigger audience.
THEATRE
Bobby the racing pigeon, pictured below, landed miles off course covered in ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallaj|kull
WHO'S A PRETTY STUPID BIRD THEN? Pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start right over again
The West Yorkshire firm, which has an office in Willenhall, will supply Off Course, with new "Gaming Options 4" terminals, which play a variety of computer games, and also have a live link to a central hub to reduce the number of breakdowns.
Off Course signs up to new deal; MEDIA & MARKETING
"However, you cannot account for athletes going off course. I can only apologise once more to those athletes and I can promise them we will do everything in our power to make sure there is no repeat next year.
Race will get back on right road
Mr Oldfield said: 'As I approached the ground I could feel myself being blown off course. Then I hit the fence.'
Charity parachutist settles for pounds 25,000 after injury
All were rescued at a position 1,000 miles off course.
Gramps from yesteryear: two navigators. (Grampaw Pettibone)
Swift Mississippi River currents had pushed the tow and its bridges off course. Several barges had hit the Greenville, Miss., bridge.
Super Cargo helps save equipment in mishap
NORDIC BUSINESS REPORT-31 January 2002-UPDATE: 'Isabella' was blown off course by strong wind - report (C)1994-2002 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD http://www.m2.com
UPDATE: 'Isabella' was blown off course by strong wind - report
Colin Bodill, 49, was forced to land by jet fighters when he was blown 100 miles off course.
Charity air ace forced down by China jets
No time is spent in preparation for the procedure; no expensive reprocessing is involved; the myringotome is always sharp; the suction tubes always function as intended; best clinical practice is observed, and nothing is overlooked to throw financial projections off course.
Personal myringotomy procedure pack
The failed lander mission followed the loss in September of the Mars Climate Orbiter, which flew off course and was destroyed.
Mars Says: Go Away
Jet streams can divide into branches without warning, carrying a balloon far off course. But the Orbiter pilots were guided by meteorologists (weather scientists) on the ground using advanced computer models and sophisticated satellite data of the Earth's hour-to-hour wind patterns.
Balloon Boys
A YACHT skipper who forced an Irish ferry to veer off course has been prosecuted by the Port of Milford Haven.
Yachtsman fined after forcing ferry to change course
The aircraft veered off course en route to Florida and was reported to have crossed Cuban airspace before downing in Jamaica.
3 die as 'Cuba ghost plane' falls into sea
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