off topic

off topic

Introducing, addressing, or discussing things not relevant to or concerned with the subject at hand. Sometimes hyphenated (always if used immediately before a noun). Make sure you don't go off topic during your lecture, or you'll just confuse your students. This is off-topic a bit, but what do you think about the recent economic trend in the Asian markets? My father always includes this off-topic remarks whenever he tells a story, and it just drags the whole thing out for what feels like an eternity.
See also: off
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

*off topic

not on the topic of discussion; far from the general subject of a discussion; not part of the purpose of a particular communication channel, such as an Internet newsgroup. (*Typically: be ~; get ~; get someone ~.) The boys in the back of the room just love to get the teacher off topic.
See also: off
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • in demand
  • hand to hand
  • flat chat
  • flat strap
  • hit and miss
  • hit or miss
  • hit-and-miss
  • bleeding edge
  • bowler hat (one) out (of something or some place)
  • cop on
References in periodicals archive
The last potential reason for midcomment silencing is that the student's comment is off topic. Here, there is an immediate flaw in the teacher's logic: The teacher may interpret the student's comment as being off topic when the student actually simply is struggling to put connection into words.
He was delightfully off topic and regaled the audience with tales of his awkward social interactions and life growing up.
What do you do when the discussion goes too far off topic?
Off Topic has blossomed from a simple art project to a budding enterprise
Lemons to Lemonade: Resolving Problems in Meetings, Workshops, and PLCs is for any educator who wants to improve meetings, and tells how to facilitate discussions, keep them on track, and handle everything from people who constantly get off topic to those who use the meetings to complain or waste time.
I was mostly on the East Central board, then one day backed into Off Topic. For some reason I got along with all, including the nuts.
During his NAFCU conference breakout session on mergers immediately following Matz's speech, former NCUA Board Member Dennis Dollar broke off topic and expressed both his support for, and opposition to, the coming rule.
* Off Topic - When typical news stories become atypical…
Dealing with an enthusiastic expert or rambler who goes off topic? Create a parking lot to capture off-topic ideas, establish guidelines and time limits for participant presentations and discussions, pose close-ended questions, and avoid body language that encourages lengthy conversations.
Still other Hadoop jobs for machine learning are triggered when curators mark articles as on topic or off topic.
I am also very grateful to all my sources who had the patience to answer my questions even when some of them were off topic. I think I have been able to report objectively and accurately on issues and I am proud of my record at the Economist.
On One2four, a student nurse threw in her 5c, slightly off topic (but that's social media for you): Hey Julia start paying our future RNs for their training in the hospitals ...
Post meaningful, respectful comments: no spam, no remarks that are off topic or offensive.
He seldom meandered off topic; however, he had a unique way of infusing his words with cozy confidentiality.
There are enough supercars and Gucci-clad teenagers in the country to prove that UAE residents have a spending problem (we hate to go off topic, but has anyone noticed a rise in 'gangsta'-style mall rats dressed in Versace, calling each other homies and the n-word?).