Where does “off like a prom dress” come from?

off like a prom dress (English) comes from English off, from Middle English of, from Old English of, from Old English æf, from Proto-Germanic *ab, from Proto-Indo-European apó.

off like a prom dress (English): Making a start, or departing, very rapidly

Definitions

  1. Making a start, or departing, very rapidly

Ancestry of “off like a prom dress”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishoffIn a direction away from the speaker or object;...
2Middle Englishofof; off; until
3Old Englishofof, from, off, out of
4Old Englishæfof
5Proto-Germanic*ab—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanapó—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European apó →Every word from Proto-Germanic *ab →Every word from Old English æf →