off the mark

Fig. not quite exactly right. Her answer was a little off the mark. You were off the mark when you said we would be a little late to the party. It was yesterday, in fact!

off the mark

also wide of the mark

wrong or not accurate They said the course would be easy but that turned out to be way off the mark.

Usage notes: sometimes used in the phrase not far off the mark (almost right): If you guessed he was jealous, you would not be far off the mark.

off the mark

Also, wide of the mark. Inaccurate, wrong, as in The forecast was off the mark, since unemployment is down, or His answers on the test were just wide of the mark. It is also put as miss the mark, meaning "be mistaken," as in The minister missed the mark when he assumed everyone would contribute to the supper. All these terms allude to mark in the sense of "a target," as do the antonyms on the mark and hit the mark, meaning "exactly right," as in He was right on the mark with that budget amendment, or Bill hit the mark when he accused Tom of lying. [Mid-1300s]

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Ariana	ar-ee-AN-ə, ar-ee-AHN-ə	English (Modern)
Russ	[rʌs]
Viraj	-	Indian, Marathi, Gujarati
Servaas	-	Dutch
Szonja	SON-yaw	Hungarian
Fermin	-	Basque