1
general::
Delay or postpone, as in He always puts off paying his bills. This idiom, dating from the late 1300s, gave rise to the proverb Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today, first recorded in the late 1300s (in Chaucer's Tale of Melibee) and repeated ever since. Also see PUT ONE OFF.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): put something off
to postpone something; to schedule something for a later time. • I have to put off our meeting until a later time. • I put off a visit to the dentist as long as I could., Phrase(s): put someone off (of) something [and] put someone off
to remove someone from a form of transportation, such as a train, ship, or airplane, owing to illness or misbehavior. (See also put someone off. Of is usually retained before pronouns.) • The captain ordered that the unruly passengers be put off the ship at the next port. • We put the thief off at the dock., Phrase(s): put someone off
1. to delay dealing with someone until a later time. • I hate to keep putting you off, but we are not ready to deal with you yet. • I had to put off the plumber again. He really wants his money. 2. to repel someone; to distress someone. • You really put people off with your scowling face. • You put off people with your arrogance. 3. to avoid or evade someone. • I don’t wish to see Mr. Brown now. Please put him off. • I won’t talk to reporters. Tell them something that will put them off. • Put off those annoying people!
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs