knock off
phr. v..phr. v.. to stop doing something; to reduce the price or amount of something.
phr. v.. to cease an activity or remove a part of something; to lower the price or quantity of an item, often in a commercial context.
They knocked off work early today.
The shop knocked off the price of the jacket by 20% to clear stock.
The artist, seeking to refine his vision, knocked off several layers of paint from the canvas.
In the verb sense of stopping work, said to be from the practice aboard slave galleys to have a man beat time for the rowers by knocking on a block or drum; when he stopped, the rowers could rest.
takes a direct object — the thing being stopped, removed, or reduced.
contrast with 'knock down' (lower prices) and 'knock out' (defeat or remove completely); 'knock off' is more about cessation or partial reduction.
The store knocked the price off.The store knocked off the price.the particle 'off' must directly follow the verb — 'knock off' is a fixed pattern.