off the cuff
Said without rehearsal
Off the cuff means without preparation or forethought—improvised, spontaneous.
The phrase evokes a speaker glancing at notes scribbled on a shirt cuff: She gave a few remarks off the cuff.
As an adjective (often hyphenated), it describes something unplanned: an off-the-cuff comment, off-the-cuff estimates.
Done without advance preparation
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unscriptedNot pre-written
- unplannedNot arranged beforehand
on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · winging-it · ad-hoc · unprepared · freestyle · makeshift · cobbled-together
Without advance planning
- instinctiveArising without conscious thought
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- impulsiveActing without deliberation
- automaticOperating without intervention
uncontrived · unforced · genuine · natural · serendipitous · unreflective · snap · reflex
Relaxed, not official
- relaxedFree of stress
- conversationalRelating to informal dialogue
- offhandCasually unrehearsed
- nonchalantCalmly unconcerned
laid-back · easygoing · breezy · chatty · colloquial · folksy · unbuttoned · unstudied
extemporaneous
Done without advance preparation
- ad-libUnscripted speech or remark
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- unscriptedNot pre-written
unplanned · on-the-spot · spur-of-the-moment · winging-it · ad-hoc · unprepared · freestyle · makeshift · cobbled-together · thrown-together
unpremeditated
Without advance planning
- instinctiveArising without conscious thought
- intuitiveKnown without reasoning
- impulsiveActing without deliberation
automatic · uncontrived · unforced · genuine · natural · serendipitous · unreflective · snap · reflex · knee-jerk
informal
Relaxed, not official
- relaxedFree of stress
- conversationalRelating to informal dialogue
- offhandCasually unrehearsed
nonchalant · laid-back · easygoing · breezy · chatty · colloquial · folksy · unbuttoned · unstudied · unaffected
- clothing idiomsfit like a glove, dressed to the nines, dressed to kill, wear the pants, caught with pants down
- improvisationimprovised, impromptu, ad lib, freestyle, ad-lib
- improvisingad-lib, ad-libbing, riff, riffing, jamming
- Spontaneityimpulse, whim, snap decision, sudden urge, on a whim
- expressions for speaking rashlyfoot in mouth, speak too soon, blurt out, speak out of turn, let slip
- public speakingspeech, public speaking, keynotes, keynote speeches, oratory
off, cuff, cuffs, handcuffs, handcuff, handcuffed, off-the-cuff, cuffed, cuffing