cuff

A shortening of "handcuffs." Slap the cuffs on him, Joey—we'll question him back at the station.

Casually and spontaneously; without planning or preparation. Often hyphenated. I didn't have time to organize my thoughts, so I just spoke off the cuff. The senator has become known for making off-the-cuff remarks that create controversy.

To purchase something with the promise or obligation of providing payment in the future. I'm not getting paid till next week, but we really need a new TV, so I decided to put this one on the cuff. Be careful not to put too much on the cuff, or you'll end up swimming in debt for years.

To flaunt something. Displaying one's ornate or elaborate cuffs was a common practice among medieval noblemen. I know you're happy about your promotion, but try not to shoot your cuffs, OK?

To say something casually and spontaneously, without planning or preparation. (Hyphenated if used as an adjective before a noun.) I didn't have time to organize my thoughts, so I just spoke off the cuff. You could tell she had been speaking off the cuff, because she couldn't properly answer the questions reporters asked her at the end of the conference.

Fig. spontaneous; without preparation or rehearsal. Her remarks were off-the-cuff, but very sensible. I'm not very good at making speeches off-the-cuff.

Fig. to buy something on credit; to add to one's credit balance. I'll take two of those, and please put them on the cuff. I'm sorry, Tom. We can't put anything more on the cuff.

Fig. to speak without preparing a speech; to speak extemporaneously; to render a spoken opinion or estimate. (As if one's notes had been written hastily on one's cuff.) she is capable of making sense and being convincing even when she speaks off—the-cuff. I find it very difficult to speak off-the-cuff.

Impromptu, extemporaneous, as in His speech was entirely off the cuff. This term supposedly alludes to the practice of speakers making last-minute notes on the cuff of a shirtsleeve. [1930s]

COMMON An off-the-cuff remark, speech or decision is one that was not planned or thought about before. I'm sorry — I didn't mean any offence. It was a flippant, off-the-cuff remark. She delivered a brilliant off-the-cuff speech completely without notes. This wasn't just an off-the-cuff decision. Note: If you say something off the cuff, you say it without planning it or thinking about it. Eisenman was speaking off the cuff, and it's possible that my tape recorder did not catch every last word. His remarks — apparently made off-the-cuff — have raised a storm of protest. Note: One explanation for this expression is that after-dinner speakers used to write notes on the cuffs of their shirts, to remind them of what to say. Another explanation is that in the early days of cinema, directors sometimes wrote notes on their cuffs during the filming of a scene, to remind them of what they wanted to say to the actors.

In an extemporaneous or informal manner.

On credit.

Extemporaneously, impromptu. This term allegedly comes from the practice of after-dinner speakers making notes for a speech on the cuff of their shirtsleeve at the last minute, as opposed to preparing a speech well beforehand. It originated in America in the 1930s. See also off the top of one's head.