come off it — stop being silly or unbelievable
phrasal verbB2IELTS 5.5+informaloccasional
Used to tell someone to stop saying something that is hard to believe, silly, or not true.
Say it like a native
Textbook I really don't think that can possibly be true.
Native Oh, come off it!
When you flatly reject an unbelievable claim in speech, 'come off it' is the natural dismissal; the polite paraphrase loses all the punch.
Pattern: Come off it!
In use
- Come off it, there's no way you finished all that work in one hour.communication
- If my friend said he could speak five languages fluently after just a year, I’d probably say, 'Come off it!' because that sounds impossible.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Come off it this story, it's not true.
✓ Oh, come off it — that's not true.
It's a fixed exclamation; you can't attach an object to it.
Common collocations
come off it (+ challenge)— come off it!, oh, come off it, come off it, you
Don't confuse it
Do not confuse with 'come off' (to detach or succeed). 'Come off it' is always used as a fixed phrase to challenge what someone is saying.