Word.ws English Dictionary

off like a bride's nightie

off like a bride's nightie adjective: making a rapid departure; away.

Adjective

off like a bride's nightie (not comparable)

  1. (Australia, slang, simile) Making a rapid departure; away.
    • Just before it was to be his shout, he was off like a bride′s nightie.
    • Missing because I′d been happy and didn′t need him, though I went to him fast enough when the happiness was over. Off like a bride′s nightie.1995, James Mitchell, So Far from Home, published 1997, page 216
    1. (Australia, slang, simile) Moving quickly and resolutely.

Synonyms of off like a bride's nightie

Origin of off like a bride's nightie

A reference to the supposed eagerness of just-married couples to have sexual intercourse on the night of their wedding. Australian from 1960.

Questions about off like a bride's nightie

What does off like a bride's nightie mean?
Off like a bride's nightie means making a rapid departure; away.
What part of speech is off like a bride's nightie?
Off like a bride's nightie is an adjective.

Words near off like a bride's nightie in the dictionary

  1. off keel
  2. off kilter
  3. off label
  4. off licence
  5. off licences
  6. off like a bride's nightie
  7. off like a dirty shirt
  8. off like a prom dress
  9. off line
  10. off menu
  11. off message

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: off like a bride's nightie (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-off like a bride's nightie.ogg.

Cite this entry: “off like a bride's nightie.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/off_like_a_bride%27s_nightie. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.