quick off the mark
1
5.4
- idiom
- UK
:
rápido en reaccionar
- Well, he should've been quicker off the mark.
Examples
-
The Economic Policy Journal was quick off the mark regarding a tweet by me to try and discredit an idea before wage earners get the bright idea of tying Fed policy to pay (the same right bankers and hedge fund managers have).
Blog text (6) -
He is also quick off the mark and has a good turn of pace, which will certainly come in handy.
Blog text (13) -
The athlete was quick off the mark, winning the race before most competitors had even left the starting line.
-
She was quick off the mark when she heard the news, immediately sharing it with her friends.
-
As a salesperson, being quick off the mark helped him secure deals before others had a chance to respond.
Synonyms
130
1.0
Happening or done without any delay
61
4.0
React quickly and helpfully to people and things
13
6.3
To notice things quickly and act to fix them
4
5.2
Able to think and answer quickly in surprising or difficult situations
2
5.6
Able to respond quickly under pressure
Prepared and alert to act immediately
Antonyms
How Prompt
Surface Forms
Morphology
The word 'quick' clearly signals speed, but the sequence 'off the mark' is semi-idiomatic and can be ambiguous (literally meaning away from a mark or idiomatically meaning inaccurate), so the specific sense 'early to respond or act at the start' is not fully predictable from the parts. Because part of the meaning relies on an idiomatic/start-image usage that a B1 learner may not infer reliably from the constituents, this is best classified as semi-transparent.
Etymology
The phrase quick off the mark may come from old races, where the mark was the starting line and being 'off the mark' meant starting quickly. So today quick off the mark means 'prompt or fast to respond or take action'.