Skip to Content

English Club : Learn English : English Language Reference
Reference : Slang : O : offbeat

< Previous | Next >

offbeat

Meaning: unconventional, not typical, strange

For example:

  • He was a little offbeat, but Captain Beefheart was a wonderful musician.

  • Jackson Pollock's abstract expressionist paintings were seen as being offbeat when he created them, but many are now regarded as genuine masterpieces.

Quick Quiz:

William Burroughs' books were called offbeat because they were
  1. typical twentieth-century novels
  2. more imaginative than most novels
  3. cheap and badly written

Discuss: offbeat

Slang of the Day

This entry is in the following categories: