She always sings off-key and makes the rest of the choir sound like baying hounds.
Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.
off-key — {adj.}, {informal} 1. Not proper; queer. * /When George told jokes at the funeral, everyone thought his action was off key./ 2. In a false key. * /John always sings off key./ Compare: OUT OF LINE … Dictionary of American idioms
off-key — adj music that is off key sounds unpleasant because it is played slightly above or below the correct ↑pitch →in tune ▪ The band sounded slightly off key. >off key adv ▪ Someone upstairs was singing off key … Dictionary of contemporary English
off-key — adj. & adv. Deviating from the proper pitch; of a musical note or series of notes; as, an off key note; to sing off key. Syn: false, sour. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
off-key — (adj.) 1920, from OFF (Cf. off) (adv.) + musical sense of KEY (Cf. key) (n.1). Figurative sense is from 1943 … Etymology dictionary
off-key — adjective, adverb music or singing that is off key does not sound good because the notes are slightly wrong … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
off-key — [adj] not harmonious abnormal, anomalous, clinker*, deviant, discordant, dissonant, divergent, inharmonious, irregular, jarring, out of keeping*, out of tune*, sour*, sour note*, unnatural; concept 594 Ant. concordant, harmonious, on key … New thesaurus
off-key — ► ADJECTIVE & ADVERB 1) Music not in the correct key or of the correct pitch. 2) inappropriate … English terms dictionary
off-key — off′ key′ adj. 1) cvb deviating from the correct tone or pitch; out of tune 2) cvb somewhat irregular, abnormal, or incongruous • Etymology: 1925–30 … From formal English to slang
off-key — [ôf′kē′] adj. 1. not on the right note; flat or sharp 2. not quite in accord with what is normal, fitting, etc … English World dictionary
Off-key — For the record label, see Offkey Recordings. For the jazz standard sometimes known as Off Key, see Desafinado. Off key is a term often used to denote musical content that is not at the expected frequency or pitch period, either with respect to… … Wikipedia
