off a cliff
5
7.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
al borde del desastre
- If change feels like walking off a cliff blindfolded, then people will reject it.
- fall off a cliff
- drive off a cliff
- jump off a cliff
It's just going to go, go off a Cliff once girl boss wins.
- It's just going to go, go off a Cliff once girl boss wins.
- I only drink coffee when I want to speed off of a Cliff and crash and burn.
- But in that post menopausal phase, estrogen kind of goes off a Cliff.
- First, we saw that Google search trends were dropping off a Cliff for Peloton bikes.
- But now the soft power has just dropped off a Cliff, right?
- But you gave Biden a victory as his poll numbers were falling off a Cliff.
- I feel like I'm about to like jump off a Cliff or something.
- At the end of the day, you might have to take a step off a Cliff.
Examples
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The flow of dollars coming from elsewhere into the local economy has dropped off a cliff.
Blog text (3) -
The project was going well until management made some poor decisions, and everything went off a cliff.
-
We're about to throw you off a cliff and see if you can fly.
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You could walk off a cliff.
Fiction book (1998) -
Stocks fell off a cliff.
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I'm falling off a cliff.
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I voted for him because the Republicans were driving America off a cliff.
Blog text (7) -
She fell off a cliff.
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First, we saw that Google search trends were dropping off a Cliff for Peloton bikes.
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Otherwise, the viewership for the talking heads will fall off a cliff as people lose interest in a foregone conclusion.
Blog text (4)
Synonyms
15
7.7
Very close to failure or defeat with little chance to recover
1
7.8
A situation that could easily end well or badly
In a risky situation that could end badly
Antonyms
How Dangerous
- Informal
5
7.4
52
4.5
47
7.6
∞
1.5
269
3.6
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes the literal image of moving 'off' a 'cliff' (a sudden, disastrous fall), so a learner who knows the words can infer a meaning of sudden, irreversible failure; the constituent meanings combine to create a clear metaphor. However, this is a figurative extension (motion -> failure) rather than a purely compositional, idiom-free sense, so the precise usage and nuance are not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Off a cliff paints the image of someone going off a high cliff and falling suddenly. That's why it means going into a situation that leads to 'danger' or 'failure' very quickly.