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Instant; ready; extemporaneous; as, an offhand speech; offhand excuses. -- adv.

Extemporary; offhand. [R.] Dean Martin.

Gay; easy; offhand; frank. The plodding, persevering scupulous accuracy of the one, and the easy, cavalier, verbal fluency of the other, from a complete contrast. Hazlitt.

To speak extempore; especially, to discourse without special preparation; to make an offhand address.

A speech or phrase interpolated offhand by an actor on the stage in his part as written, usually consisting of some seasonable or local allusion. [Slang] Gag rein (Harness), a rein for drawing the bit upward in the horse's mouth. -- Gag runner (Harness), a loop on the throat latch guiding the gag rein.…

Offhand; without previous study; extemporaneous; extempore; as, an impromptu verse.

To invent, or provide, offhand, or on the spur of the moment; as, he improvised a hammer out of a stone.

as, to be off one's legs or off the bed; two miles off the shore. Addison. Off hand. See Offhand. -- Off side (Football), out of play; -- said when a player has got in front of the ball in a scrimmage, or when the ball has been last touched by one of his own side behind him. -- To be off color, to be of a wrong colo…

, a person of intrinsic worth under a rude exterior. -- Rough and ready. (a) Acting with offhand promptness and efficiency. "The rough and ready understanding." Lowell.

n which the rivets have snapheads formed by a die or swaging tool. -- Snap shot, a quick offhand shot, without deliberately taking aim.

A quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.