off (one's) game
- idiom
- Informal
:
fuera de forma
- Feeling a bit unwell, he was definitely off his game in practice this week.
Examples
-
Luzhin is off his game.
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Margaret seems to be off her game.
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- Definitely off his game today.
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You're off your game because of your history with her.
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He was off his game.
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I'm off my game.
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Ever since he came back from vacation, he has been off his game during meetings.
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She knows she is off her game today and hasn't been able to focus properly.
Synonyms
14
3.5
Not as good as usual
Antonyms
How Well
Surface Forms
Morphology
The element 'off' clearly signals being below normal, and 'game' is used metaphorically to mean one's performance or skill, so a learner who knows both words can partly infer the overall sense 'not performing as well as usual'. However, the use of 'game' to mean 'performance' is an extension that is somewhat metaphorical and may not be fully predictable to all B1 learners without prior exposure.
Etymology
Off (one's) game comes from sports and play: imagine a player who is not in their usual shape, so they are off and do not play their best game. So, saying someone is off their game means 'not doing as well as usual'.