cool off v.2
1. (orig. US) to calm down; thus cooling-off adj.
Central Jrnl (Kosciusko, MS) 6 Aug. 1/2: Take another horn, Simon, and cool off a little. | ||
S.F. Comm. Advertiser 9 Dec. 2/4: She defied his Honor and all his officers, [...] and giving assurance of a disposition never to ‘dry up,’ was carried down below to cool off [DA]. | ||
Complete Stalky & Co. (1987) 20: Let ’em cool off. Golly! how that heifer danced! | ‘Stalky’ in||
‘Half A Man’ in Chisholm (1951) 104: An’ I ain’t cooled off yet before they’ve got / Me workin’ for ’em in this crooked plot. | ||
Carry on, Jeeves 17: I lit another cigarette and started for a stroll in the grounds, by way of cooling off. | ||
Persons in Hiding 14: The word passed from crook to crook that there was a ‘cooling-off joint’ in Tulsa where a criminal not only could get protection, but shrewd advice. | ||
Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day (2000) 146: I thought he might have cooled off before he came out. | ||
Bound for Glory (1969) 122: Little too much noise there, buddy [...] Walk along with me till you cool off. | ||
Savage Night (1991) 99: Until Ruthie cooled off, I had to have some place to hang out. | ||
(con. 1940s) Wax Boom 289: Let’s both cool off, Sal. | ||
Jones Men 98: I thought maybe he’d cooled off a little. | ||
Beano 2 Jan. 12: Until Dennis cools off a bit! | ||
(con. 1970s) King Suckerman (1998) 63: Let the boys I took it from cool off, then give it back. | ||
WITSEC 167: [A]n enraged Judge Hughes cited him for contempt of court and issued an arrest warrant. [...] The judge didn’t cool off for several months. |
2. (US) to be imprisoned.
Tales of the Ex-Tanks 301: George [...] is cooling off at the Harrison Street station. |
3. (orig. US) to calm someone down.
Foundry 143: Now, here! If any of the boys get hot around the collar, I want you to cool ’em off. | ||
Men of the Und. 139: I cooled him off, which was lucky. | ‘I Was King of the Safecrackers’ in Hamilton||
Proud Highway (1997) 123: So I evaded his first charge and tried to cool him off. | letter 19 May in||
Go-Boy! 112: When I started to bolt for the door he cooled me off. |
4. (orig. US) to lose interest in; to cause to lose interest in.
Home to Harlem 114: As Jake was not brutally domineering, she cooled off from him perceptibly. | ||
Duke 112: But that finished it. That cooled me off. | ||
Real Cool Killers (1969) 14: Cooling off as quickly as a showgirl on a broke stud. | ||
Alfie I i: When a married bird gets too hot on, that’s the time to cool off. | ||
Voices from the Love Generation 133: The thing to do is to cool off dangerous drugs. | ||
Guardian G2 19 Oct. 4: The mortgage adviser appeared to cool off once he heard that Hege’s partner was not a man. |
5. (orig. US) of a criminal, or persons involved in conflict, to lie low until the hue and cry has passed; thus cooling-off adj.
Thieves Like Us (1999) 14: Cooling off at Dee’s and then going on down into Texas. | ||
Popular Detective Mar. 🌐 He found the ice cream company’s night watchman was an old pal cooling off there after a hot career. | ‘Frozen Stiff’ in||
Deadly Streets (1983) 199: I’m hot, now. I have to cool off where the cops can’t find me. | ‘Students of the Assassin’ in||
Gonif 79: Honey, it’s the safest place on earth [...] You can stay here till spring if you want. But little Mert needs a little coolin’ off money, too. | ||
Guardian 13 July 20: ‘Please tell the attorney general that we have been cooling off for the past 350 years,’ Farmer told King. |
6. to get rid of, to dismiss.
Popular Detective Apr. 🌐 Here I was getting warm on that bank messenger murder and they cool me off like that. | ‘No Place Like Homicide’ in
7. (orig. US) to become bored.
USA Confidential 54: He planned to remain in Israel until the committee ends or cools off. |
8. (orig. US) of a gambler, to run out of luck.
Get Shorty [film script] Now you’re down to three-ten in the case. You must’ve cooled off quite a bit since you got here. |
9. (US) to die.
(con. 1917) Paper Tiger 73: [T]he Protestant undertakers [...] had to be checked three times a day [for a notable death]. The Catholics and Jews gave us no worry. They would call us the minute a prominent citizen cooled off. |
10. (orig. US) of a stolen object, to be less hot adj. (5d)
Mr Blue 290: I still had several partial batches of payroll checks. They had cooled off in the intervening months and it was easy to find people willing to go around cashing them. It was safe and lucrative. |
In phrases
(US Und.) in a confidence trick, the gang member who calms worried members of the public.
(con. 1930s) Texas Stories (1995) 139: Dixon was the cool-off man and I was the stick. | ‘The Last Carousel’ in