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off base

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*off base

 

1. Lit. [of a runner in baseball] not having a foot touching the base. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) The runner was off base but the first baseman didn't tag him out.

2. Fig. unrealistic; inexact; wrong. *Typically: be ~; get ~.) I'm afraid you're off base when you state that this problem will take care of itself. You're way off base if you think I was to blame!

See also: base, off

off base

wrong You're way off base if you think that teaching the basic skills is a waste of time.

See also: base, off

off base

Wrong, relying on a mistaken premise, as in His description of the accounting system was totally off base. This metaphoric term originated in baseball, where a runner who steps off a base can be put out. [c. 1940]

See also: base, off

off base

Badly mistaken.

See also: base, off