off-track
off-track — idiom
1. used to say that a plan, project, or activity is not developing as expected and
used to say that a plan, project, or activity is not developing as expected and may fail.
Leo's bakery plan went off-track when he could not find a good location.
collocation: go off-track
If the hospital renovation goes off-track, we must ask the investors for more time.
conditional: if ... get off-track
The school's renovation project went off-track after a flood damaged the building materials.
Gita worried that her career was going off-track when she took a year off traveling.
collocation: go off-track (career context)
Folake realized the marketing campaign had gone off-track when sales dropped for three months.
- go off-track
- get off-track
- derail
stronger image of complete failure; often used for plans and careers
- go wrong
more general; does not carry the directional metaphor of off-track
- stray from the plan
more literal; suggests a minor deviation rather than serious failure
- stay on track
the opposite idiom, meaning to continue as planned
2. saying things during a conversation or discussion that are not related to the ma
saying things during a conversation or discussion that are not related to the main subject being talked about.
During the meeting, Andrei went off-track and started talking about his holiday in Thailand.
collocation: go off-track in meetings
The teacher went off-track when a student asked about last year's final exam paper.
I tried to focus on the budget, but Bilal kept going off-track about office parties.
keep + [noun] + from + going off-track
Joshua warned the committee not to go off-track by discussing budgets instead of safety rules.
Let's not go off-track — we only have thirty minutes to finish this report.
imperative: let's not go off-track
- go off-track
- get off-track
- keep from going off-track
- digress
more formal; used in academic or professional writing
- stray from the point
slightly more formal than off-track
- wander off the subject
less common; implies a gradual shift away from the topic
Usage Note
Commonly used to gently redirect a conversation back to the main point.
Common Mistakes
3. not competing in a race at a racetrack, or relating to betting on races that hap
not competing in a race at a racetrack, or relating to betting on races that happens away from the racetrack.
The horse had been off-track for three months after twisting its ankle during training.
Rania placed an off-track bet on the Kentucky Derby through a website on her phone.
used as adjective before noun: off-track bet
My uncle prefers off-track betting because the racetrack is too far from his house.
The champion racehorse was off-track for six months after a fall during training.
Off-track betting shops in the city let people gamble without going to the racecourse.
compound adjective: off-track betting
- off-track betting
- off-track bet
- off-track shop
- off the track
interchangeable in the literal racing sense
- away from the racecourse
more formal and explicit
- on-track
racing at the racetrack; also used for bets placed at the track
Usage Note
This is the original literal sense of the phrase, from which the metaphorical meanings developed. In horse racing, an 'off-track bet' or 'off-track betting' (often abbreviated OTB) refers to wagers placed outside the racetrack.
Etymology
The phrase 'off-track' originally comes from horse racing, where a horse that is 'off the track' is not participating in races. By the early 20th century, this literal meaning expanded into 'off-track betting' — placing wagers away from the racecourse. The metaphorical use for plans or discussions that go wrong emerged in mid-20th century American English, drawing on the image of a horse leaving the track and therefore not completing the race as intended.
First known use
1944
1944, in the meaning defined above