Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (orig. US) bizarre, peculiar.

1953		Little Walter & His Jukes [song title] Off The Wall.
1965		H. Rhodes Chosen Few (1966) 182: He blew his cool, called me some off th’ wall names and finally told me what page he was on.
1966		H.S. Thompson Hell’s Angels (1967) 200: Terry the Tramp tells the story about the ‘off-the-wall broad who rolled up to the El Adobe one night’.
1972		Milner & Milner Black Players 48: Now I got me a poop-butt hippie chick who can’t get behind turning tricks; and she’s always got some off the wall excuse why not.
1987		(con. 1970s) J. Pistone Donnie Brasco (2006) 137: I couldn’t be sure what was cooking in that off-the-wall mind of his.
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 167: ‘I suspect that this could be an irregular kind of can...cer.’ ‘Some off-the-wall kind of can...cer? A kind of wildfire cancer!’.
1999		Indep. Rev. 14 July 7: It was seen as off-the-wall Paki music but it seemed very natural to us.
2002		Cypress Hill Sl. Gloss. 🌐 off the wall: not normal.
2021		(con. 2016) in J. Fenton We Own This City 153: ‘That is like some straight, like, off-the-wall type shit’ .

2. (US black, also off the walls) unimportant, uninteresting.

1955		‘Hal Ellson’ Rock 103: That disc is off the walls. It’s square, period.
1972		D. Claerbaut Black Jargon in White America 74: off the wall adj. irrelevant; unimportant; uninteresting: an off the wall place.
1980		E. Folb Runnin’ Down Some Lines xx: Ain’t no way I’ma tell some off d’wall honky [...] ’bout my life.

3. obstreperous, difficult.

1969		S. Greenlee Spook who Sat by the Door (1972) 30: The cat owed me start to get a little off the wall about the bread.
1977		L. Heinemann Close Quarters (1987) 241 Some off-the-fucken-wall major was already here this mornin’.

4. (orig. US) irrelevant, unexpected.

1981

Eble Campus Sl. Fall 5: off the wall – unexpected, out of context, irrevelant: The questions the professor asked were really off the wall.

5. (US campus, also off the walls) excellent, first-rate.

1966

Current Sl. I:3 5/2: Off the walls, adj. Excellent, attractive, ‘great.’.