• throwoff,throw off

throw-off (pluralthrow-offs)

1. (UK) Astart in ahunt or arace.
   • 1870 July, Wat Bradwood, “Our Drag”, inThe Sporting magazine, volume69, page122:

     We had not covered much more than three miles since thethrow-off; but horses and hounds already exhibited a most interesting and picturesque tail.

   • 1874,Every Saturday, page136:

     The sixty horsemen spread away for the start, the two pretty Amazons set their lips, a mob of peasants in blue blouses form a noisy fringing to the phaetons and barouches which have come to see thethrow-off, and conspicuous amidst all this we have M. Pistache's roan, which, unable to stand the music of the horns, first jumps, then pivots on its hind legs, then springs off like a shot, well-nigh wrenching M. Pistache's arms out of their sockets.

   • 1903, Émile Zola,Rome, page306:

     The 'throw-off' was at one o'clock, and the gallop lasted more than two hours and a half, so that the fox had a very long run.

   • 2017, Thomas Smith,Sporting Incidents in the Life of Another Tom Smith:

     On one occasion the meet was at Boughton House, the seat of the Duke of Buccleuch, when, just before thethrow-off, the keeper requested Mr. Smith to come with him to see a curious matter.

   • 2020, Rolf Boldrewood,Babes in the Bush:

     He would be available as a chaperon for the feminine division, as he did not intend to do more than canter a mile or two after thethrow-off.

2. Arace in which a contestant is paid todeliberatelylose.
   • 1864,Spirit of the Times and the New York Sportsman, page353:

     Since the spring of 1863 there has never been athrow-off race, nor shall there ever be a race on the track for hippodroming; all must be on the square, as the club started it for their own fun and to work their horses on.

   • 1973, Alfred Doten, Walter Van Tilburg Clark,The Journals of Alfred Doten, 1849-1903, page630:

     By many it was thought to be a "throw off" race, and that Selaya did not do his best – I was inclined also to the opinion, although I may have been wrong

   • 1994, Ted Vincent,The Rise and Fall of American Sport: Mudville's Revenge, page44:

     Fixed races, or "throw-offs, as they were called, were common enough to keep sprint running relegated to outlying areas during the 1870s.

   • 1999, William Arthur Harper,How You Played the Game: The Life of Grantland Rice, page51:

     Given that the stakes on the side were always higher than on the main event itself, "throw-offs" ( fixed races ) were common, with the lowly paid hired athletic hands agreeing to throw a race for the right price; sometimes they would lay down for any price since they were often stiffed by the race backers anyway.

3. Acontrol thatengages ordisengages part of themechanism on a device without having to turn the device off.
   • 1890, Karnac, “What I have seen”, inInland Printer, American Lithographer, volume 8, page868:

     I have seen a corporation erect a $60,000 building, including $500 expende in decorating the business office, and still do its job printing on ancient Degeners, unprovided withthrow-offs or ink fountains, while the business manager was perplexed to see his competitors, provided with modern machinery, take long runs of presswork at prices he could not touch except at a considerable loss.

   • 1892 February 9, Jacob B. Knudsen, “Air-Brake”, inOfficial Gazette of the United States Patent Office, page679:

     In air-brake mechanism, the combination, with the air-pump of a connecting-arm adapted to engage the piston-rod of said pump, a shifting frame for operating said connecting-arm, athrow-off bar for throwing said connecting arm out of engagement with said piston-rod, a pivot-rod and pivot-pin for sustaining saidthrow-off bar, a top plate for sustaining saidthrow-off bar, suitable springs for giving to saidthrow-off bar an elastic support, and suitable means for operating saidthrow-off bar, substantially as described.

   • 1894, Lawrence Lewis, Adelbert Hamilton, John Houston Merrill,The American and English Railroad Cases:

     Athrow-off switch which would have derailed the cars if left undistubed was closed so as to lead the cars on the side track down a moderate grade, until it joined the main track.

   • 1912,Reports of Civil and Criminal Cases Decided by the Court of .Appeals of Kentucky, page513:

     The chief difference between the two presses is that the Curtis press has an attachment known as the "trip" or "throw-off," which is used to prevent the embossing without stopping the machine when a sheet is improperly placed in the machine.

   • 2017, Stewart Hoffman,The Band Teacher's Percussion Guide:

     Make sure the snarethrow-off is in the off (lowered) position and set the adjustment knob roughly midway between the tightest and loosest tension position.

4. (sports) Athrow taken toresume play, such as after a goal or at the start of a period.
   • 1929,American Physical Education Review - Volume 34, page306:

     When a player of the side having thethrow-off at the center, crosses the halfway line ahead of the ball, he is "off-side" and the ball shall be called back for a second throw from a new line five yards back of the halfway line.

   • 1979, Craig T. Norback, Peter G. Norback,The New American Guide to Athletics, Sports & Recreation, page222:

     The teams shall alternatethrow-offs at the beginning of each period.

   • 2003, Dorothy Zakrajsek, Lois Carnes, Frank E. Pettigrew,Quality Lesson Plans for Secondary Physical Education, page574:

     Thereafter,throw-offs occur after every goal.

   • 2011, William Henry,Water Polo:

     When a goal was scored, instead of lining up at their respective ends, the teams took up their positions, the forward lines being three feet from the center of the pond; and when starting the ball the centre forward of the team against whom the goal had been scored had thethrow-off, but had to pass to either wing, and not back.

   • 2014, Chris Kroeger,Volleyball Drills:

     Precise and well-timedthrow-offs are essential.

5. (accounting)Income minusexpenses anddepreciation (before tax).
   • 1968, Richard Leo Pollock,The Tax Depreciation Problem, page289:

     In the case of the single investment, both the tax payments and the quasi-rentthrow-off would be only for the single investment being evaluated.

   • 1975, Allan Craig,Counting Things and Magic Rings, page150:

     If the expanded fundthrow-offs "reflect success" of a company in terms of "profits," they should be shipped back to the Internal Revenue Service, to the company's employees, and to the company's supply vendors to whom they belong, from whom they have been borrowed by the company, and whose claims on the apparent company resource accrual accounting, as contrasted with "cash" accounting, attempts to faithfully recount.

   • 1992, United States. Department of Housing and Urban Development,Reviewing Annual and Monthly Financial Reports, pages2-76:

     Since the net cashthrow-off is calculated using the accrual method of accounting employed on Form HUD - 92410, expenses included in the computation may not have been paid.

   • 2009, Gary W. Eldred,Investing in Real Estate, page23:

     Net income after mortgage payments (cashthrow-off) equals $3,394 ($10,000 NOI less $6,606).

6. (by extension) Adiscount on adebt orinvoice due to aproblem with theasset being paid for.
   • 1913, United States. Congress. Joint Committee on Postage on Second-Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail,Railway Mail Pay:

     Then there is, I think, $25,000 extra allowed in the appropriation to pay for extra service at the rate of 4 cents per mile, where the amount of service is very great and the number ofthrow-offs very great.

   • 1950, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking and Currency,Bank Holding Bill, page267:

     I was a little impressed with the categorical list ofthrow-offs that you wanted taken out of this bill.

   • 1952, George Mandel,Flee the Angry Strangers, page331:

     Can't last another month without athrow-off deal from pig 'cause Wengel 'buses the blind.

7. The act offlinging orthrowing somethingoff.
   • 1939,Leaflets, with Contents:

     Too much belt dressing gradually builds up lumps on belt and pulley surfaces, causes beltthrow-offs, and may break belt lacing.

   • 1947, United States. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics,Technical Note - National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, page 9:

     Although the dishpan is of small diameter, this irregularthrow-off of ice could contribute to propeller unbalance in icing conditions particularly at higher fan speeds.

   • 1980, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Department of the Interior and Related Agencies,Department of the Interior and Related Agencies, page722:

     How dangerous is it to the community at large in the sense of thethrow-offs of gases and other chemical products?

   • 2006, Howard Jones,Dakotaland: Tales of the Territory, page162:

     After that, Beauty and I slowly developed an understanding. There were more fall-offs andthrow-offs. The pace of travel picked up from walking to a tight-rein trot, then to a little loping canter for short distances.

8. Something that is flung or thrown off.
   • 1995, Joseph Harralson ·,Design of Racing and High Performance Engines, page230:

     This oil throwing condition had two principle aspects: first, the oil was subjected to considerable windage by the action of the crankshaft; secondly, since it is necessary to circulate a large amount of oil through the engine due to large bearing clearances required for lubrication and cooling, this results in morethrow-off.

   • 2012, George Zebrowski,The Omega Point:

     Many stellar mappers consider the planet to be one of a chain of widely spaced bridge stars linking the spiral arms of our galaxy with the Magellanic Clouds, which arethrow-offs from our main system.

9. Thedeflection of aprojectile at anangle.
   • 1904, John Patrick Mannock, S. A. Mussabini,Billiards Expounded to All Degrees of Amateur Players, page305:

     You have to judge the angle of thethrow-off and the impact point.

   • 2011, D. Gkritzapis, E. Panagiotopoulos, “In-Bore Yaw Effects on Lateral throwoff and Aerodynamic Jump Behavior for Small Caliber Projectiles Firing Sidewise from Air Vehicles”, in Ernest Baker, Douglas Templeton, editor,Ballistics 2011: 26th International Symposium, page458:

     The present study investigates the effects of in bore-yaw phenomenon on lateralthrow-off and aerodynamic jump behavior for small caliber rotational symmetric (both in configuration and mass distribution) projectiles launched horizontally at supersonic firing speeds and various altitudes from high-subsonic air vehicles.

   • 2013, Riso Levi,Billiards in the Twentieth Century:

     Their widerthrow-off angle makes billiards a far less difficult game than it is with ivories.

   • 2016,Billiards - Screw, Side and Top:

     Not only is this exact striking of the object-ball of the utmost importance for thethrow-off of the cue-ball, but also in the matter of steering the object-ball to the desired after-positions.

10. Something that has beendiscarded; acastoff.
    • 1947, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations,Hearings, page 2:

      I say the younger Senators who got thethrow-offs of everybody else.

    • 2001, Elizabeth A. Wheeler,Uncontained: Urban Fiction in Postwar America, page186:

      They returned home laden withthrow-offs : the old clothes which the Jews had given them.

    • 2020, Charmaine Ross,Claimed by the Alien Space Pirate:

      She knew how to live on the streets, find food from other people'sthrow-offs, find shelter beneath cardboard.

    • 2021, Thomas Cannon,Shattered:

      I'm there for the chicks, Mikey. You professional comdians get all the tail. I just want yourthrow-offs.

11. Ared herring; something intended to throw people off.
    • 1952,Collier's Once a Week - Volume 130, page65:

      To protect against sign stealing, I employ a lot of what we call 'throw-offs', gestures after I have already given the sign which mean nothing but may fool the foe into thinking that one of them is a sign.

    • 1957 April, Stanley Pashko, “Inside Baseball”, inBoys' Life, volume47, number 4, page74:

      He goes through a whole series of fake movements which make him look as if itching powder had been dumped inside his shirt, and mixed in with all the "throw-offs" is the genuine sign.

    • 2013, John Gardner,The Quiet Dogs:

      Lying on his bed, the night before starting his own two-day marathon of technique training, Herbie listened to the magnificent Mahler Eighth—the Symphony of a Thousand—and made the divisions in his mind: Anti-Surveillance, watching your own back;Throw-offs and Back-doubles; Misdirection; Emergency exists—just in case there was no other way.

12. Something that is done, made, or saidinformally,on the side, oroff-the-cuff.
    • 1970, Ronald Peacock,Goethe's Major Plays, page207:

      Slight plays likeDie Geschwister, or the brief comedies likeDer Bürgergeneral, although based on potentially important Goethean themes, remain mere sketches from an artist's notebook; whilst the musical pieces and entertainments, brillian and charming, no doubt, are cleverthrow-offs of an enormously fertile poetic fancy.

    • 1975, Eric Berne,What Do You Say After You Say Hello?:, page485:

      The third line should be athrow-off, e.g.: 'Hello.' 'Hello.' 'Groovy.' 'Yeah.' 'The lighting, I mean.' 'Oh, I thought you meant the music,'

    • 1979, United States. Department of the Army,Physical security, page49:

      References (including those not furnished by applicant or employee.) These are known asthrow-offs, and their names are obtained during interviews of references furnished by applicants or employees ).

    • 2010, Julian Spalding,The Best Art You've Never Seen, page215:

      These are a remarkable survival, made of fragile unfired, painted clay, the spontaneousthrow-offs of a master who became famous as a lithographer rather than a sculptor.

    • 2015, Karen Lamb,Thea Astley: Inventing Her Own Weather, page137:

      Astley's characters, said White, were 'flimsy' or 'repulsive', 'throw-offs' from an 'impatient ego'.

    • 2019, Lucy Sprague Mitchell,Here and Now Story Book: Two- to seven-year-olds:

      The best books that we have for children arethrow-offs from artists primarily concerned with adults , —Kipling and Stevenson stand in this group , —or child versions of adult literature , —from Charles and Mary Lamb down.

    • 2022, Hugh MacDiarmid, Duncan Glen,Selected Essays of Hugh MacDiarmid, page34:

      He is as prolific as an iceberg; histhrow-offs populate the oceans.

13. Abyproduct,spinoff, orincidental creation.
    • 1992, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Armed Services,Department of Defense Authorization for Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1993, page378:

      In terms of the way this question is worded, in responding to it I would have to say that nothing but the most liberal approach should be followed in order to advance this industry and itsthrow-offs to the United States and world economies.

    • 2011, Philip M. Wagner,Grapes into Wine, page21:

      Endless numbers of local variants, geneticthrow-offs, or accidental recombinations provide individuality and occasionally superior quality.

    • 2016, Robert Sobel,The Great Boom 1950-2000:

      This spending had repercussions in the civilian sector asthrow-offs,” ranging from airliners to digital dialing, became more common.

    • 2019, Kenneth R. Miller,The Human Instinct, page 3:

      In Harris's interpretation of the evolutionary narrative, we seem to be nothing more than casualthrow-offs, byproducts of a universe far greater than our imagination, a universe in which we are no more than thoughtless works of nature.

• offthrow

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