“Go off on a tangent”
CommunicationDéfinition
Commencer à parler ou à réfléchir à un sujet sans rapport avec le sujet principal.
English: To start talking or thinking about a subject unrelated to the main topic.
Exemples
Exemples
1 / 2“I asked about the budget, but he went off on a tangent about his holiday.”
Je lui ai posé des questions sur le budget, mais il a commencé à parler de ses vacances, ce qui n'avait rien à voir.
Use this idiom in context
Rewrite this example in plain English without the idiom. Preserve who is speaking, the time and the meaning.
I asked about the budget, but he went off on a tangent about his holiday.Compare with the original example
I asked about the budget, but he went off on a tangent about his holiday.
Je lui ai posé des questions sur le budget, mais il a commencé à parler de ses vacances, ce qui n'avait rien à voir.
Write a two-line conversation using “Go off on a tangent”. Make the situation clear enough that a reader can infer the meaning. Then replace the idiom with a plain-English explanation: does your conversation still mean the same thing?
Check the expression in a dictionaryQuestions fréquentes
- What does "Go off on a tangent" mean?
- "Go off on a tangent" means commencer à parler ou à réfléchir à un sujet sans rapport avec le sujet principal.
- How do you use "Go off on a tangent" in a sentence?
- Example: "I asked about the budget, but he went off on a tangent about his holiday."
- Should I interpret "Go off on a tangent" word for word?
- Understand the expression as a whole. Use the definition and example to learn its meaning rather than translating each word separately.