off the bat
From the start
Off the bat means immediately or from the very beginning, without delay or hesitation: Right off the bat, I knew something was wrong.
The phrase comes from baseball—the moment a ball leaves the bat after being hit.
Usually appears as right off the bat or straight off the bat.
- instantBriefest unit of time
- at onceWithout any delay
- straight awayWithout any pause
- home runFull-circuit scoring hit
- directlyWithout intermediary steps
without hesitation · swing · pitch · quick · sudden · fast · split second · gut reaction · on the spot · get-go · right away · from the start · batting order · first base · snap judgment · first impression · immediate · knee-jerk
temporal immediacy
off the bateventually
At a later time
in the end · down the road · later on · sooner or later · in time
battle, battery, batter, offset, offhand, offshoot, batman, off-the-cuff, battlement