Is it off or of?upid

[flibbage0]

Reminds me of junior school

Haitch or Aitch?



This gives me an idea.

 

[flibbage0]

Damn my plan failed.

 

[w3bbo]

1/3 of 1 = 1/3
1/3 off 1 = 2/3

off = subtraction from the sum no?

 

[roddypoddy]

Why? It doesn't make sense to me at all. I'm thoroughly befuddled.

You make one item,its a one off,and so on and so forth,thats how i was taught,many years ago.

 

[Raumarik]

1/3 of 1 = 1/3
1/3 off 1 = 2/3

off = subtraction from the sum no?

Always took it as meaning "can you run one copy of this off". Such as 4 off this, 3 off that. I'm talking purely in a CAD environment and it's certainly how we used it, in fact if anyone wrote "2 of" they'd be pulled up for it.

 

[Amleto]

when doing a-levels I have CAD job in fabrications. They used 'x off this, y off that'.

I always presumed it was 'x copies off the press/bench/press/etc'.

 

[whitecrook]

Your'e all wrong. The word is clearly 'have' as in this sentence:

"You should have told him where to stick it."

Oh wait.

 

[Bes]

My colleague says and writes 'pacific' instead of 'specific'. I really want to correct him, but he's about twice my age :/

 

[GreatAuk]

1/3 of 1 = 1/3
1/3 off 1 = 2/3

off = subtraction from the sum no?

That's how I would interpret those words if I saw them in my little sisters maths homework. I suppose that's probably how most people would interpret those words in such a context.

But, for whatever reason, in the mentioned context, off is used, I'm guessing because it's a shortened version of another phrase, rather than a whole industry being full of people who get off and of mixed up... Although, I suspect that it could well be possible that one mistake once, somewhere, supported adamantly enough by its creator could infect an entire industry without too much difficulty... Although I don't think that's likely.

 

[rG-tom]

It is off, don't ask me why, but off is what is used in our office as well.

Ditto, seems to be an engineering thing as when I asked my dad he said the same.....


I suppose one situation it makes sense "this car is a 1 off" ?

 

[Voltar]

Wow.

 

[PhillyDee]

Ditto, seems to be an engineering thing as when I asked my dad he said the same.....

Yup. Exactly what it is. As has been pointed out many times.

 

[i-bert]

@Voltar and others

Not sure why people are acting like this.

It's a reasonable question to ask and I've never heard the word used in this context. My first thought was that it should be "of", but I suppose it makes sense.

 

[Anewbe4u]

@Voltar and others

Not sure why people are acting like this.

It's a reasonable question to ask and I've never heard the word used in this context. My first thought was that it should be "of", but I suppose it makes sense.

Yep, turns our it was a good question and I've learnt something new.

 

[steve-h]

jesus you lot fail

 

[contracteur]

Of off, of?upid.

 

[arknor]

to me it depends on under what circumstances its used...

in a lot of situations to me it sounds as wrong as people who say "axe" instead of "ask"

the whole thing beeing used outside of engineering etc probably came from people trying to be smart

its not people saying what they want from the lunch run is it? "i want 4 off those cheese buns and one off those cans of coke"

 

[Uhtred]

The people at the joinery firm I used to work at would write 'nr' for quantities, short for 'number'. For example 10 nr 3mm screws.

 

[ChrisJSY]

Always took it as meaning "can you run one copy of this off". Such as 4 off this, 3 off that. I'm talking purely in a CAD environment and it's certainly how we used it, in fact if anyone wrote "2 of" they'd be pulled up for it.

Wow.
Let me get this straight, you make copies of something and you say [numerical] copies off [item]?

 

[JBuk]

Wow.
Let me get this straight, you make copies of something and you say [numerical] copies off [item]?

just: [numerical] off [item]

1 off [item] , 2 off [item], 3 off [item] and so on