1889. Referee, 2 June. A few who had ... gone over the landlord,
left him skinned.
To go off, verb. phr. (colloquial).—1. To take place; to occur.
1866. Mrs. Gaskell, Wives and Daughters, ch. xiv. The wedding went
off much as such affairs do.
2. (colloquial).—To be disposed of (as goods on sale, or a woman in
marriage).
1835. Dickens, Sketches by Boz, p. 208. Miss Malderton was as well
known as the lion on the top of Northumberland House, and had an
equal chance of going off.
3. (colloquial).—To deteriorate (as fish by keeping, or a woman with
years).
1883. Pall Mall Gazette, 16 Apr., p. 3, c. 2. Shotover rather went
off in the Autumn, and her Leger preparation was not altogether
satisfactory.
1892. Tit-Bits, 17 Sept., p. 422, c. 3. To those ... who are apt to
go off colour, so to speak, through injudicious indulgence at
table.