# Take off = go?



## jexrry_nam

Hello there ,,

I've heard my English teacher say this a lot.

He says this this whenever the class finishes.

'You guys can take off now.'

As I know, take off is often to describe a airplane that starts flying away.

Does take off mean go?

Could anyone help me?

Thanks


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## e2efour

I would classify this as slang. It's like saying _You can beat it now_ (_go_ or _leave__, _as you say).
Otherwise it could be thought of as very informal. _When he saw two policeman following him, he took off sharply. _This could mean he started running to get away from them.


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## sound shift

It means "go" or "leave", and it sounds like AE to me. I don't know whether it is considered slang in AE.


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## pob14

I'm not sure I'd call it slang, exactly . . . colloquial, maybe.  It's certainly very common.


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## Sparky Malarky

I use *take off* to mean *leave*.  

We are going to meet friends at 3:00.  It is 2:45.  We'd better take off.  

If my husband knows I am going somewhere in the evening, he might ask me "What time are you taking off?"  He doesn't care what time my event is, or how long it will take me to drive there, he only wants to know what time I am leaving the house. 

This is very informal.


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## sunyaer

Sparky Malarky said:


> I use *take off* to mean *leave*.
> 
> We are going to meet friends at 3:00.  It is 2:45.  We'd better take off.
> 
> If my husband knows I am going somewhere in the evening, he might ask me "What time are you taking off?"  He doesn't care what time my event is, or how long it will take me to drive there, he only wants to know what time I am leaving the house.
> 
> This is very informal.


This is a very old thread.

Usually, "take off"  implies a sense of quickly when it is used to mean "leave". In the example "We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better take off" , there is an implication of "quickly". In another example, when your husband asks you "What time are you taking off?", is there any sense of "quickly" in his asking?


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## reno33

sunyaer said:


> *Usually, "take off"  implies a sense of quickly when it is used to mean "leave". In the example "We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better take off" , there is an implication of "quickly". In another example, when your husband asks you "What time are you taking off?", is there any sense of "quickly" in his asking?*



You're right.  In the first example you give,  there is a sense of speed.  In the second example, there is no sense of speed.

_Parenthetically, however,  I question the authenticity of the husband's question:  *"What time are you taking off?"*  I doubt a husband in AE would actually say this in the context it appears.  He would more likely say:  *"What time (when) are you leaving?"  "What time (when) are you going?*_


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## sunyaer

reno33 said:


> ...
> 
> _Parenthetically, however,  I question the authenticity of the husband's question:  *"What time are you taking off?"*  I doubt a husband in AE would actually say this in the context it appears.  He would more likely say:  *"What time (when) are you leaving?"  "What time (when) are you going?*_


Agreed. Although I am not American, "what time are you taking off" sounds a bit unusual in an usual context where a husband asks his wife about the time she is going to leave. Would a humorous husband ask that way?

"Take off" seems to connote an implication of speed, or something.

This example of  "took off" looks like a nuetral use without any implication, doesn't it?

"The man took off before we could ask him who he was."

https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/took-off-for.3580798/post-18217075


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## kentix

I think I mostly hear "We have to take off now" in casual, impromptu situations when you're with friends. In other words, it's not scheduled time, it's casual hanging out. "When someone says "We have to take off now" it doesn't necessarily imply they are in a great hurry to be anywhere. It just means that they are letting you know they are getting mentally ready to leave and that you now know that. They might leave in a minute or two or they might leave in ten more minutes if you ask them a question that leads to more discussion. Or they might remember something they forgot to tell you and talk for ten more minutes. But the leaving process has started. If they just need to be home to start cooking dinner ten minutes won't make a difference. If they have to meet someone else at a certain time, it might. The context will determine the urgency of leaving.


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## bennymix

'take off', meaning _leave suddenly_ is in Oxford Learners'  with no special  "American" designation.


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## sound shift

bennymix said:


> 'take off', meaning _leave suddenly_ is in Oxford Learners'  with no special  "American" designation.


Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."


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## bennymix

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."



I wouldn't dispute your experience, sound.    The Oxford and Cambridge fellows must travel in different circles!

take-off_2 phrasal verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
2. (_informal_) to leave a place, especially in a hurry   _When he saw me coming he took off in the opposite direction._

TAKE OFF | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
informal *to suddenly leave somewhere, usually without telling anyone that you are going:*
_When he saw me, he took off in the other direction._


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## sound shift

Looking at those Oxford and Cambridge examples, I think it would be true to say that we use the expression in certain circumstances, but Sparky Malarky's "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2:45. We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."


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## bennymix

Thanks, sound, that's useful information;  such distinctions are important.


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## sunyaer

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."


Would you use "take off" to mean something related to "leave", if not "leave suddenly"?



sound shift said:


> Looking at those Oxford and Cambridge examples, I think it would be true to say that we use the expression in *certain circumstances*, but Sparky Malarky's "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2:45. We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."


Hi Sound, thanks a lot for your input. Would you please give example(s) for "take off" being used in the circumstances you mentioned?


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## Packard

I've always assumed that "take off" meaning to leave suddenly was derived from the "take off" meaning "lift" as in flight.  We still use "take off" in that context:  "What time does your flight take off?"

The online etymology does not dispute my assumption, nor does it seem to directly support it.  The etymology does seem to support the idea of suddenness however.

https://www.etymonline.com/word/takeoff
*takeoff (n.)*
also take-off, "caricature," colloquial, 1846, from earlier sense of "thing that detracts from something, drawback" (1826), from take (v.) + off (adv.). Meaning "act of becoming airborne" is from 1904 in reference to aircraft; in reference to jumping, it is attested from 1869. Verbal phrase take off "become airborne" is from 1918, in reference to aircraft; figurative use "rise suddenly and dramatically" by 1963.


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## bennymix

https://blog.hrp.org.uk/badass-queens-history-international-womens-day/
{notable queens}
*Isabella of France (1292-1358)*


Even after Gaveston was captured and executed by the barons in 1312, Isabella worked tirelessly to navigate the diplomatic fall-out between Edward and his revolting nobles. However, by the 1320s her husband had a new controversial favourite, Hugh Despenser, whose relationship with Edward was widely believed to be sexual. This was more than Isabella could deal with, and she took off on a long pilgrimage around the country.


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## Packard

bennymix said:


> https://blog.hrp.org.uk/badass-queens-history-international-womens-day/
> {notable queens}
> *Isabella of France (1292-1358)*
> 
> 
> Even after Gaveston was captured and executed by the barons in 1312, Isabella worked tirelessly to navigate the diplomatic fall-out between Edward and his revolting nobles. However, by the 1320s her husband had a new controversial favourite, Hugh Despenser, whose relationship with Edward was widely believed to be sexual. This was more than Isabella could deal with, and she took off on a long pilgrimage around the country.


We can only assume that this did not involve aircraft and flight.


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## kentix

Like many phrases, "take off" has multiple meanings. This discussion is evidence of that. As is that dictionary entry. Some uses are more casual/colloquial than others.

Take off - the action of an airplane leaving the ground
Take off - remove, as clothes
Take off - leave casually
Take off - leave in order to escape
Take off for - leave with the intention of traveling to a specific second location
Take off on - begin a trip
Take off after - chase


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## bennymix

RH unabridged has 11 definitions in total, including most of those given by kentix. (Some of kentix's are versions of _leave_ or _go away_, e.g. suddenly, casually, etc.)


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## sunyaer

"Take off" meaning "leave" or "leave suddenly" looks like an American thing. Are there any other British speakers who would like to come in and make some comments?


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## london calling

sound shift said:


> Looking at those Oxford and Cambridge examples, I think it would be true to say that we use the expression in certain circumstances, but Sparky Malarky's "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2:45. We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."


I totally agree.


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## kentix

sound shift said:


> We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."


That would probably be far more likely here, too. But the other one would certainly be possible.


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## sunyaer

My confusion is still not solved. How come Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries have entry that BriE speakers would never use.


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## london calling

We didn't say that. We use it exactly as Oxford and Cambridge say. We don't use it generally speaking in the way AE uses it.


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## Steven David

jexrry_nam said:


> Hello there ,,
> 
> I've heard my English teacher say this a lot.
> 
> He says this this whenever the class finishes.
> 
> 'You guys can take off now.'
> 
> As I know, take off is often to describe a airplane that starts flying away.
> 
> Does take off mean go?
> 
> Could anyone help me?
> 
> Thanks



Yes, that's what it means.

It's not slang. It's an idiomatic expression.

It's not to be taken in a literal way.

It's a very commonly used expression.

It can also mean "leave".


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## Steven David

sunyaer said:


> My confusion is still not solved. How come Oxford and Cambridge dictionaries have entry that BriE speakers would never use.



It's just that Oxford Dictionaries does not recognize this as an expression in British English. Oxford Dictionaries is from Britain.

You would find something different in an American dictionary. You would probably find something different in the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, as well. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English is online.

Cambridge Dictionaries online has both British English entries and American English entries.


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## london calling

Steven David said:


> It's just that Oxford Dictionaries does not recognize this as an expression in British English.


Not so. See the posts above.  We just use it differently.


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## Steven David

london calling said:


> Not so. See the posts above.  We just use it differently.




Do you mean you use it to speak of planes leaving the ground? Is that it?

If that's so, then I overlooked that. I would think that everybody uses "take off" to speak of planes leaving the ground, of course


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## velisarius

We also use it in BE when someone suddenly and unexpectedly leaves. 

_After that big fight we had, she grabbed a suitcase and just *took off.* I've no idea where she is now._


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## london calling

Steven David said:


> Do you mean you use it to speak of planes leaving the ground? Is that it?
> 
> If that's so, then I overlooked that. I would think that everybody uses "take off" to speak of planes leaving the ground, of course


No, if you had read the posts above you would have realised I didn't mean that. We use it as it is used in the dictionary examples: 



bennymix said:


> take-off_2 phrasal verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
> 2. (_informal_) to leave a place, especially in a hurry   _When he saw me coming he took off in the opposite direction._
> 
> TAKE OFF | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
> informal *to suddenly leave somewhere, usually without telling anyone that you are going:*
> _When he saw me, he took off in the other direction._


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## Steven David

I see. It could have that meaning, as well, in American English. Context would have to determine that that is what it means.

They got in the car and took off. (They were in a hurry for some reason.)

That could be understood to mean "leave quickly and suddenly".


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## sunyaer

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."





london calling said:


> No, if you had read the posts above you would have realised I didn't mean that. We use it as it is used in the dictionary examples:
> 
> 
> bennymix said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...
> take-off_2 phrasal verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com
> 2. (_informal_) to leave a place, especially in a hurry   _When he saw me coming he took off in the opposite direction._
> 
> TAKE OFF | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary
> informal *to suddenly leave somewhere, usually without telling anyone that you are going:*
> _When he saw me, he took off in the other direction._
Click to expand...


sound and london must come from different regions, right?


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## london calling

What does that mean, sunyaer? We agree with each other.


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## Steven David

sunyaer said:


> sound and london must come from different regions, right?



Given what you quoted here, I would say that's the only logical or reasonable explanation.


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## PaulQ

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."





sunyaer said:


> "Take off" meaning "leave" or "leave suddenly" looks like an American thing.





sunyaer said:


> sound and london must come from different regions, right?


I shouldn't think that matters - I come from the same town as sound shift and I'm quite happy with to take off = to depart suddenly:

A: "Where's Harry? I thought he'd be with you..."
B: "He was with us, but a policeman came round the corner and he took off [like scalded cat/stabbed rat]."


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## Steven David

PaulQ said:


> I shouldn't think that matters - I come from the same town as sound shift and I'm quite happy with to take off = to depart suddenly:
> 
> A: "Where's Harry? I thought he'd be with you..."
> B: "He was with us, but a policeman came round the corner and he took off [like scalded cat/stabbed rat]."



Given that, would you say that this is a question of personal preference or idiolect?

Or could it be just what someone is accustomed to hearing and saying?


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## sunyaer

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."



I take it as meaning sound doesn't use it to mean "leave suddenly".



london calling said:


> What does that mean, sunyaer? We agree with each other.


In ealier posts, it looks to me you use it as the examples of "take off" meaning "leave suddenly" in Oxford and cambridge dictionaries.
How would you agree with each other?


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## Steven David

sunyaer said:


> I take it as meaning sound doesn't use it to mean "leave suddenly".
> 
> 
> You use it as the examples of "take off" meaning "leave suddenly".
> How would you agree with each other?




I was wondering the same thing. That's a good question.


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## london calling

sunyaer said:


> I take it as meaning sound doesn't use it to mean "leave suddenly".


Soundshift partially corrected himself in a later post:



sound shift said:


> Looking at those Oxford and Cambridge examples, I think it would be true to say that we use the expression in certain circumstances, but Sparky Malarky's "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2:45. We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."


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## Steven David

london calling said:


> Soundshift partially corrected himself in a later post:




Thank you. That makes sense. I was just a bit curious about this.


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## PaulQ

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."





Steven David said:


> Given that, would you say that this is a question of personal preference or idiolect?
> Or could it be just what someone is accustomed to hearing and saying?


I think it is possible to go through life not having heard the odd, relatively common, word/phrase. It isn't as if the phrase does not appear in writing, but then nobody reads everything. I'm going to file it in "One of those things."


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## sunyaer

sound shift said:


> Well, nobody I know uses it to mean "leave suddenly."
> 
> 
> london calling said:
> 
> 
> 
> Soundshift partially corrected himself in a later post:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> sound shift said:
> 
> 
> 
> Looking at those Oxford and Cambridge examples, I think it would be true to say that we use the expression in certain circumstances, but Sparky Malarky's "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2:45. We'd better take off" (#5) doesn't strike me as something a BrE speaker would be likely to say. I would say, "We are going to meet friends at 3.00. It's 2.45. We'd better get going."
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Sound shift didn't correct his experience, which is "nobody (I) he know(s) uses it to mean "leave suddenly."  What he "partially corrected himself" was that sound shift just admitted in the later post that according to examples in the dictionaries, we (refers to BrE speakers but not sound shift himself and people he knows) use the expression in some contexts.

I still come to the conclusion that sound shift does not use it to mean "leave suddenly", neither people he knows, except he digs into his deep memory and recalls he might have heard people using it that way before. Should that be the case?


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## london calling

I said 'partially corrected'. Please don't misquote me.


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## sunyaer

PaulQ said:


> I shouldn't think that matters - I come from the same town as sound shift and I'm quite happy with to take off = to depart suddenly:
> 
> A: "Where's Harry? I thought he'd be with you..."
> B: "He was with us, but a policeman came round the corner and he took off [like scalded cat/stabbed rat]."





PaulQ said:


> I think it is possible to go through life not having heard the odd, relatively common, word/phrase. It isn't as if the phrase does not appear in writing, but then nobody reads everything. I'm going to file it in "One of those things."


It's very interesting to know that.

 Without today's technologies which enable English learners, including me, to communicate with native speakers from all over the world, and in here we are lucky enough to have two members from a same town, about uses of a specific phrase, there would be no way to get the phrase right.

I think " take off" is considered as a phrasal verb, while this kind of words is the pain in the neck for English learners.

By the way, I was wondering how big your town is.


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## PaulQ

sunyaer said:


> this kind of words is the pain in the neck for English learners.


 (There is a secret committee that spends all its time changing English from a simple language to an incomprehensible one...)


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## london calling

Definitely a pain in the neck.
I'm from London. I don't know where PQ and SS are from but I don't think that's a problem as we all basically agree.


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## sunyaer

london calling said:


> Definitely a pain in the neck.
> I'm from London. I don't know where PQ and SS are from but I don't think that's a problem as we all basically agree.


What I am quite curious about is that sound shift and people he knows do not use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly", which seems quite different from experience of other members here.


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## PaulQ

sunyaer said:


> What I am quite curious about is that sound shift and people he knows do not use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly", which seems quite different from experience of other members here.





PaulQ said:


> I think it is possible to go through life not having heard the odd, relatively common, word/phrase.


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## JulianStuart

sunyaer said:


> What I am quite curious about is that sound shift and people he knows do not use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly", which seems quite different from experience of other members here.


That comment was in a very specific context, as sound shift carefully noted in #13, and preceded by "we use the expression in certain circumstances"

So, for "We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better take off." is because it would sound like
"We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better leave suddenly."


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## sunyaer

PaulQ said:


> I think it is possible to go through life not having heard the odd, relatively common, word/phrase. It isn't as if the phrase does not appear in writing, but then nobody reads everything. I'm going to file it in "One of those things."


Agreed.  It's also dependent on people in the circle of your life.

If you don't mind, let me ask, would you use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly"? If not, have you ever heard people saying it in that sense?


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## PaulQ

sunyaer said:


> If you don't mind, let me ask, would you use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly"?


Not only would I, but I actually did... 


PaulQ said:


> I come from the same town as sound shift and *I'm quite happy with to take off = to depart suddenly:*
> 
> A: "Where's Harry? I thought he'd be with you..."
> B: "He was with us, but a policeman came round the corner and *he took off* [like scalded cat/stabbed rat]."


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## sunyaer

PaulQ said:


> Not only would I, but I actually did...


Fair enough. Thanks a lot.


JulianStuart said:


> That comment was in a very specific context, as sound shift carefully noted in #13, and preceded by "we use the expression in certain circumstances"
> 
> So, for "We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better take off." is because it would sound like
> "We are going to meet friends at 3:00. It is 2:45. We'd better leave suddenly."



I know that "...we'd better get going" is more likely to be heard.

In an informal context, would "...we'd better take off now" sound better? (in which "now" is added to make the tone a bit softer.)

Note: "take off" actually gains sense figuratively from an airplane lifting itself off the ground, I would see "suddenly" and "quickly" are equally true. So "...we'd better take off now" could sound like "...we'd better leave quickly now."

Would all this make any sense?


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## kentix

In the U.S. it would be something you could say to the host at a causal party with lots of guests, say some sort of outdoor cookout, birthday party, thing. Low key, not formal. Lots of people coming and going. You might get the host's attention for a moment and tell them, "We're going to take off now. We had a great time. Thanks." "Glad you could come."


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## london calling

sunyaer said:


> What I am quite curious about is that sound shift and people he knows do not use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly", which seems quite different from experience of other members here.


Why do you keep saying that? As I said, SS partially  corrected his answer. We are all in agreement.


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## Steven David

sunyaer said:


> What I am quite curious about is that sound shift and people he knows do not use "take off" to mean "leave suddenly", which seems quite different from experience of other members here.




Having taken a look at all the other replies, I agree that this is a fair question. And it's still an interesting question, as well.


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## Steven David

sunyaer said:


> Fair enough. Thanks a lot.
> 
> 
> I know that "...we'd better get going" is more likely to be heard.
> 
> In an informal context, would "...we'd better take off now" sound better? (in which "now" is added to make the tone a bit softer.)
> 
> Note: "take off" actually gains sense figuratively from an airplane lifting itself off the ground, I would see "suddenly" and "quickly" are equally true. So "...we'd better take off now" could sound like "...we'd better leave quickly now."
> 
> Would all this make any sense?




Yes, this makes sense.

[However, I don't believe that "take off" is "informal". Most contexts are "informal", anyway. "Take off" is not any more informal than "get going". And "get going" is not more formal than "take off".]

Yes, I agree that "take off" is figurative when it means "leave" or "go". It's figurative in that it refers, first, to an airplane leaving the ground. An airplane leaves the ground, or it literally "takes itself off the ground".


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## velisarius

_Take off_ and _get going_ are certainly "colloquial" for me. There are obviously certain forms of writing and even of speaking where we don't want to sound too casual and chatty. It's a question of register, and many people are called upon to write or translate more formal English texts where everyday colloquialisms would be quite out of place. (This shouldn't need saying by the way.)


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## PaulQ

sunyaer said:


> Note: "take off" actually gains sense figuratively from an airplane lifting itself off the ground,


*No*. 

*1657*    W. Greenwood _"Απογραϕὴ Στοργῆς"_ sig. I  If you be already tainted with these charmes, unloose your selves, *stoutly take your selves off*, dispute not any longer with your passions; flie from it.

(Note the date of the quote - long before any sort of aerial travel. The link with aeroplanes taking off is achronistic: 

Off = from; away, etc. "Take off" has the idea of removing something or someone from somewhere - When the police came, the man took off -> the man removed  himself (= took himself) from (off) the place.

You should not confuse
1. He invented the luminous dog-collar, and the idea took off, - gained increasing popularity
with
2. When the police came, the man took off. -> left from that place.


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