Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

Proofreading Service - Pain in the English
Proofreading Service - Pain in the English

Your Pain Is Our Pleasure

24-Hour Proofreading Service—We proofread your Google Docs or Microsoft Word files. We hate grammatical errors with a passion. Learn More

off the mark

Is ‘off the mark’ a proper english?

“My earlier calculation on the number of slides is off the mark. I have just added on department of building & the current total is 97. I still haven’t receive department of Real Estate which would be another 17 slides. The total will be around 120 slides.”

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Comments

It is an expression meaning "incorrect", roughly.

Ben2 Sep-29-2005

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Acceptable, but I prefer the term, "Off Da Hook".

good Oct-01-2005

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It's simply a metaphor, perhaps a dead one. Imagine measuring and marking a piece of wood, cutting it, then measuring it again, discovering that it was cut to the wrong size.

porsche Oct-26-2005

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Or, also may be from archery; missed the bullseye is off the mark.

porsche Oct-27-2005

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