From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Prepositional phrase [ edit ] off base
( not comparable , US ) outside the boundaries of a military base .
Antonym: on base 2009 September 21, Bill Maze, Bill would expand off-base housing options [1] 26 September 2010 :A Virginia lawmaker wants to improve off-base living conditions for enlisted troops with families.
( not comparable , baseball , of a baserunner ) bases , and hence vulnerable to being caught out.
Antonym: on base 1907 Richard Harding Davis , chapter 5, in The Congo and Coasts of Africa :The hippo heard us, and, like a baseball player caught off base , tried to get back to the river.
( comparable , figuratively , of a person) Mistaken ; misguided ; somewhat wrong in opinion or judgment .
Near-synonyms: off-track off target 2007 November 27, “The Not-Quite Truth About NYC ”, in Newsweek :But he's off-base in describing the city as having "record crime" until he took office.
( comparable , figuratively , of an action, belief, idea, etc) Incorrect or inappropriate ; not properly executed, envisioned, or understood.
Near-synonyms: off-track off target off-kilter 2007 July 20, Bruno Maddox, “Blinded By Science Fictional Reality ”, in Discover , retrieved 26 September 2010 :Verne had been dead for 64 years by the time of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 and was thus spared the embarrassment of knowing . . . that part of the rocket would be named “Columbia,” not his own ludicrously off-base suggestion, “Columbiad.”
2010 , Kate Pickert, How Health Reform Will Impact Existing Plans ," Time , 24 June:
That partisan rhetoric may be heated, but it's not entirely off base .
