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Glite Dictionary
off the horn

off the horn

9.4
To call someone and talk informally by phone
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : por teléfono
  • I just spoke to him off the horn about the schedule changes.

Examples

  • They made most of the arrangements off the horn so nothing was in writing.

  • Can we chat off the horn later?

  • Can we touch base off the horn later this afternoon?

  • I just spoke to her off the horn.

  • Let's discuss the project off the horn so we can finalize the details.

  • I caught up with him off the horn to see how he was doing.

  • She usually prefers to handle matters off the horn rather than through email.

Synonyms

to chat
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
269 1.0

To talk in a friendly, informal way about small everyday things

is similar but typically happens through casual calling
to chat about
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
40 1.6

To talk in a friendly, casual way about a subject

is the same casual talk often carried out by calling
on the horn
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
34 8.9

To talk to someone on the phone

is about casual or informal calling rather than neutral contact
to telephone
vsoff the horn
20 1.0

To call someone to speak with them

emphasizes casual or informal calling rather than formal contact
to shoot the breeze
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
9 6.8

To chat in a relaxed informal way about unimportant things

is that light chat specifically when done by casual calling
to chitchat
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
7 3.0

To talk in a friendly, light way about unimportant things

is that same light conversation when it happens by calling
to chit-chat
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
5 4.1

To talk in a friendly, light way about unimportant things

is the same light social talk carried out by calling
to jawbone
vsoff the horn
  • Informal
9.3

Talk in a friendly, relaxed way

is casual idle talk that commonly happens by calling

Antonyms

formal
  • Formal
63 3.0

Using correct grammar without slang or contractions

How Casual

off the horn
  • Informal
9.4
to phone
204 1.0
to contact
∞ 2.5

Surface Forms

off the horn positive

Morphology

off + the + horn

The sense 'to communicate informally (by telephone)' is not derivable from the literal meanings of 'off' and 'horn' because using 'horn' to mean 'telephone' is a slang/idiomatic extension rather than the common noun 'horn' (a signaling device). This dialectal/metaphorical shift makes the phrase unpredictable for a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.

Etymology

Off the horn comes from old telephones where the handset looked like a small horn, so people said they spoke 'off the horn' when they talked by phone rather than in writing. So today off the horn means 'to communicate informally or casually, especially by telephone'.