Meaning of off-color | Babel Free

Definitions

1. Of the wrong color.
2. Dirty, vulgar or obscene, especially in a way that is unpleasant.
   idiomatic
3. Different from usual.
   idiomatic
4. Feeling mildly unwell.
   idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“Careful control of mixing at the central point reduces the possibility of off-color paint in some booths, and uniform pressure at the spray guns is easily maintained.”

“Because of his reputable work with off-color and contaminated materials, I have asked Dr. Otto Speck of Colorama Consultants to give us some direction.”

“After some amount of time elapses, the transition phase from color A to color B will yield off-color product until the color change for color B is fully established in the system.”

“He told an off-color joke.”

“[T]he equating of the female genitalia with a wound caused by an axe is a very off-colour metaphor.”

“He seems to have crawled off the earth after his Texas itinerary, in company with the alleged ex-nun whom he was carting around the country to pander to the prurient appetites of off-color dames by relating naughty tales of desiring nuns and accommodating priests.”

“Overly risqué jokes and foul language are invitations to being charged with sexual abuse. I must admit to enjoying humor a great deal, and I am guilty of sharing all kinds of stories, some of which are slightly off-color, but far from lewd.”

“Since Zappa treats subject matter, dialogue, and song as musical material, Permanent Damage has a casual off-color quality. Permanent Damage and An Evening with Wild Man Fischer were works of oddball sociology as much as they were rock and roll records.”

“Even the roadside sights seemed a little off-color and was just beginning to lose some of its summer luster.”

“There was something funny about his eyes . . . something off-color and old . . . but he pulled the shades back down before I could get a good look.”

“I feel a bit off-color today.”

“Nihal Sheshan, one of our officers, tells me our chief has been a little off-color of late. Kind of disoriented sometimes.”

“One evening she was feeling off-color with a virus and was settled comfortably in the sitting-room.”

CEFR level