# Why do people use "off of" so much **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 25, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435 "2004-08-25T13:40:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grand\_poobah\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e36b37/32.png) [@grand\_poobah\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grand_poobah_bear)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/1 "2004-08-25T13:40:10Z")
I am quite unsure about the technical difference between “off something” and “off of something” but would it not suffice to say, “take a left off Sherman St.” instead of “take a left off of Sherman”? Why this love affair with making English more complicated? Do people think that is the right way to say it? What is the deal here? ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/2 "2004-08-25T13:49:24Z")
I have wondered the same thing. _Off_ is a preposition and putting _of_ after it would seem to be doubling up the prepositions. I very rarely do the doubling up thing. I say, “Get off the sofa” vs “Get off of the sofa” but I have heard people say the latter. I can’t think of a single instance where _of_ would need to follow _off_ in order to make the meaning clear. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/3 "2004-08-25T14:33:02Z")
Redundant but common. Like when the kids ask me “where is mom at?” instead of simply “where is mom?” The meaning is clear although a needless word is uttered. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/4 "2004-08-26T00:18:25Z")
The usage seems to be common enough in US English, but I think most non-US speakers would regard “off of” as not merely redundant, but wrong. “Off of” is not an acceptable variant of “off” and a parent or teacher, for example, would probably correct a child who used “off of”. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/5 "2004-08-26T00:24:09Z")
When it crops up in Britain, it seems to be more a dialect thing than the actual inclusion of an extra word…more “offa” than “off of”. “Onna” instead of “on” crops up occassionally - and there’s no way they’re saying “on of”. ---
**Author:** ![erislover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/71e660/32.png) [@erislover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erislover)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/6 "2004-08-26T01:46:44Z")
There is an analogous situation with “get off” as in “derive pleasure”. For instance, “He gets off on it,” is a very common expression, or the taken aback, “It isn’t like I get off on it!” This in particular happens when words get grouped into a common expression, like “put up” meaning “bear”, as in, “I won’t put up with it.” I wonder if the kind of double preposition in the OP is a form of hypercorrection from this kind of use. ---
**Author:** ![Rucksinator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/898d66/32.png) [@Rucksinator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rucksinator)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/7 "2004-09-01T20:08:35Z")
> [@grand poobah bear](#): > > I am quite unsure about the technical difference between “off something” and “off of something” but would it not suffice to say, “take a left off Sherman St.” instead of “take a left off of Sherman”? Why this love affair with making English more complicated? Do people think that is the right way to say it? What is the deal here? By the same token, what about ‘onto’? You could just say ‘on’. Likewise, ‘out of’. You could just say “Get out the car”, or “Get out the way.” I’m not sure I understand your objection. If we wanted to streamline the language, there are surely better ways to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Gaudere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e495f1/32.png) [@Gaudere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaudere)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/8 "2004-09-01T20:51:26Z")
[Moderator Hat ON] More of an IMHO thing, IMHO. [Moderator Hat OFF] ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/9 "2004-09-01T22:28:01Z")
If you find yourself hearing this a lot, perhaps you should get off of people before they have to say something. Just a thought. ---
**Author:** ![Tiggrkitty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tiggrkitty/32/17966_2.png) [@Tiggrkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiggrkitty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2004, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/10 "2004-09-01T22:43:47Z")
_blinks_ Did I miss something? I have NEVER heard anyone say this in my life. If I am giving directions to someone…I normally say “take the xzy exit”, “turn right/left at market street” etc. Could this be a regional thing? I grew up in Dallas, Texas and have never heard this term used. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/11 "2004-09-02T01:00:08Z")
It’s fairly common: “turn off of the highway” “get off of the bed” etc. It’s an idiom, so it can’t be called incorrect except by anal retentive language purists. As for being redundant – so? Language is full of redundancies. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/12 "2004-09-03T03:49:02Z")
I think the word “of” helps to clarify the meaning. I can say, “turn right off the road.” Does this mean I should get off the road, then turn right? (i.e. “right, off the road”). Or does it mean I should turn quickly/sharply (i.e. turn “right off”)? The phrase “off of” helps clarify the positional meaning, i.e. I am turning right, from my present road, to another. Likewise, we say, take a right “onto” (not “on”) Sherman, because we are not currently on Sherman yet. ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/13 "2004-09-03T05:29:35Z")
Maybe people like saying “off of” instead of “off” because the extra beat that the “of” provides is melodious. It’s good to be melodious! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/14 "2004-09-03T13:15:36Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s fairly common: “turn off of the highway” “get off of the bed” etc. Maybe by analogy with “get out of the bed”? ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/15 "2004-09-03T21:43:55Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > When it crops up in Britain, it seems to be more a dialect thing than the actual inclusion of an extra word…more “offa” than “off of”. “Onna” instead of “on” crops up occassionally - and there’s no way they’re saying “on of”. I thought “onna” was really “on the”. Something of a WAG, but I think “off of” arises from the speaker’s desire to emphasize that the motion is not only “off” the thing mentioned, but then “away from it” as well. Also, “off of” emphasizes that motion is involved, while “off” by itself may not. In this respect it’s like “into” vs. “in”. For example: “I used to live on Brockton Avenue, right off Wilshire” (although I could imagine someone saying “off of” here too). I think something like this must be what’s happening in a descriptive grammatical sense; I don’t know if that makes it ‘correct’ or not. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-use-off-of-so-much/261435/16 "2004-09-03T22:19:40Z")
I use them both. Example: To the dog. “Get off the bed.” She stays put. “GET OFF OF THE BED” She gets off (of) the bed. It’s a matter of emphasis, I guess. I’ve never thought about it before, and the only person I’ve ever met who actually corrects “where are you at” is my aunt the elementary school principal. I don’t like the redundant “at”, but I’m not a nazi about it. Don’t get me started on nucular, though. 😃