stall off

stall off

To avoid, evade, or delay dealing with someone or something. A noun or pronoun can be used between "stall" and "off." A: "If that's the bank manager calling me about the mortgage, tell her I'm not home." B: "You can't keep stalling her off forever, you know." I've been stalling off the investigation for nearly a week, trying to get our accounts in order before the auditor comes to look at them.
See also: off, stall
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

stall someone or something off

to put off or delay someone or something. The sheriff is at the door. I'll stall him off while you get out the back door. You can stall off the sheriff, but you can't stall off justice.
See also: off, stall
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
See also:
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D'Aleo said the blocking weather pattern that should occur at times in the upcoming winter means storms can stall off the East Coast and bring prolonged bouts of snow.
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Britain's former foreign secretary Jack Straw criticised the EU, and reacted the Union to stall off Turkey with pretenses.
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But the storm, which kicked up 30-foot swells in the ocean as it moved past Cape Fear, was expected to stall off the North Carolina coast and could threaten the US East Coast for several more days.
Dennis menaces Cape Fear
But what concerns Pederson and other media people and organizations is their conviction that some governmental units are using the law to stall off demands for disclosure.
Texas open records law used by some to stall disclosure
We discovered late Wednesday, after Bessie was up, May was gone and the truck was back, that Lulu had knocked the business line extension in the first stall off the hook.
Life on the farm, part 4,083 and continuing...
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