1 C1 idiomatic informal
To dismiss or get rid of someone with a weak excuse or evasive answer.
"He tried to boy off the salesman with a claim that he was too busy to talk."
separable
boy off
C1 informal separable transitive
A rare dialectal expression meaning to dismiss or put someone off with excuses or evasion.
In plain English
To get rid of someone by giving them a weak excuse or dismissing them.
What does "boy off" mean?
One main meaning — here's how to use it.
Usage tip
Extremely rare. This is a dialectal or archaic variant of 'fob off' found in some regional British dialects. It is not in common use and many native speakers will not recognize it. ESL learners should use 'fob off' or 'brush off' instead.
How to conjugate "boy off"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
boy off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
boys off
he/she/it
Past simple
boyed off
yesterday
Past participle
boyed off
have + pp
-ing form
boying off
continuous
Hear "boy off" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "boy off" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Other ways to say "boy off"
Swap in when you want variety — tap a linked one to explore it.
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