| be off the hook 1. if a telephone is off the hook, the part that you speak into is not lying in the part that holds it so the telephone will not ring. He left the telephone off the hook because he didn't want to be disturbed. 2. get/let (someone) off the hook - to allow someone to escape from a difficult situation or to avoid doing something that they do not want to do. You're off the hook - someone else has volunteered to do the job. |