off at a tangent



off at a tangent

On a course of discussion that is irrelevant or divergent from the topic at hand. Primarily heard in UK. If we keep going off at a tangent, we'll never get through this meeting. It's impossible to get through a conversation with my mother because she's always going off at a tangent.
See also: off, tangent

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Raulra-OOL (Portuguese), rah-OOL (Italian)Portuguese, Italian
Aliya (2)-Hebrew
TerrellTER-əl, tə-RELEnglish
RandalRAN-dəlEnglish
Vadimvah-DEEMRussian
Helena['helinə]