get off with
phr. v..phr. v.. to escape a serious punishment for a crime or mistake, or to receive a very light one.
phr. v.. to escape a more severe penalty or consequence for a transgression; often implies that the punishment received was surprisingly lenient.
He got off with just a small fine.
Despite the seriousness of the accident, the driver got off with a warning because it was his first offense.
The corporate executives got off with a mere slap on the wrist while their employees faced the full brunt of the legal fallout.
- Particles
- off with
- Separability
- inseparable
- Pattern
- get + off + with + object
usually followed by the specific punishment received (e.g., 'a warning', 'a fine').
contrast with 'get away with' (escaping punishment entirely) to help students understand that 'get off with' involves a light penalty rather than no penalty at all.
He got off with to pay a fine.He got off with a fine.the preposition 'with' must be followed by a noun phrase representing the punishment, not an infinitive verb.