look off

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look off (third-person singular simple present looks off, present participle looking off, simple past and past participle looked off)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) To put off by one's facial expression
   • 1957, Rex Stout, If Death Ever Slept, page 40:

     She can look a man on or look him off, either way. I wouldn't have thought any woman could look him off, I'd think she'd need a hatpin or a red-hot poker

2. (transitive, idiomatic, American football) To mislead by directing one's apparent attention away from one's true object of intent.
   • 2004, Danny Wuerffel with Steve Spurrier and Mike Bianchi, Danny Wuerffel's Tales from the Gator Swamp, page 24:

     I went back to pass, tried to look off the safety, turned and fired it out to Jack. It didn't work. The safety closed on the ball and knocked it down.