off the books
15
7.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
en negro
- Many workers are paid off the books to avoid taxes and regulations.
- work off the books
- off-the-books partnerships
- off-the-books cash
Examples
-
I'm trying to keep this off the books.
-
There was work off the books on construction sites, work in bars all over the Bronx.
Fiction book (1991) -
And I was in enough trouble already; it was Saturday, and we were working off the books.
Fiction book (1993) -
Why not just do everything off the books so you can keep more of the money yourself?
Blog text (32) -
I'll pay you off the books.
-
How many people work off the books and owe back taxes?
Blog text (10) -
In Australia, quite a few migrants work off the books.
Blog text (11) -
Not too hard to hide income if you work off the books or are self-employed.
Blog text (8) -
What we do know is that Soriano's contract will be off the books sooner rather than later now.
Blog text (10) -
Roughly 43 percent of Turkish employment is off the books, compared to a developed-country average of 18 percent.
Academic text (2012)
Synonyms
87
6.8
Said to a reporter that is not for publication
9
7.5
Done secretly to hide payments and avoid the law
Sold or done secretly to avoid the law
Not written down or kept in official papers
How Official
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly built from 'off' (indicating removal or absence) and 'books' (financial/record-keeping entries): something kept 'off the books' is removed from the official records. This compositional relation is straightforward and follows common record-keeping logic, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent senses can infer the idiom's meaning.
Etymology
The idiom off the books may come from the simple image of a shopkeeper taking a sale off the official books, the business record, so the money did not show up in the accounts. So, today off the books means 'not officially recorded', often to 'avoid taxes' or rules.