put off
pʊt ɔːf
Push it back far enough and even your appetite goes
The picture A hand shoves what is right in front of you back and away from now. Bring forward pulls a date toward you; put off shoves it back away.
Where the picture shows up in put off
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the meeting is shoved back
They put off the meeting until Monday.
ðeɪ pʊt ɔːf ðə ˈmiːtɪŋ ənˈtɪl ˈmʌndeɪ
They pushed the meeting back to Monday.
A hand slides the meeting across the calendar into a square further along.
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stop shoving it back
Don't put it off any longer — call the clinic.
doʊnt pʊt ɪt ɔːf ˈeni ˈlɔːŋɡər kɔːl ðə ˈklɪnɪk
Don't delay any longer — ring the clinic.
A hand reaching to shove it back again is caught and held still.
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the paperwork keeps getting shoved
I keep putting off the paperwork.
aɪ kiːp ˈpʊtɪŋ ɔːf ðə ˈpeɪpərwɜːrk
I keep leaving the paperwork for later.
The stack of forms on the desk gets nudged a little further aside each day.
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the meal is shoved away from you
The smell put me off my lunch.
ðə smel pʊt miː ɔːf maɪ lʌntʃ
The smell killed my appetite for lunch.
The smell turns into a hand and pushes the plate away from your face.
It isn't only time that gets pushed back; your liking for something is pushed away too.
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the customer is shoved back
I had to put the customer off until Friday.
aɪ hæd tə pʊt ðə ˈkʌstəmər ɔːf ənˈtɪl ˈfraɪdeɪ
I had to hold the customer off until Friday.
The customer at the door is held off with a palm and turned toward Friday.
All of it in one picture
Put off is one gesture: shoving what is in front of you backwards. Shove a meeting and the date moves; shove the paperwork and it just keeps piling; shove the customer and they are turned toward another day. When it is you being shoved away instead of the time, the plate goes back and your appetite is gone. So put off always leaves the same feeling — something has been pushed back from here and now.