à côté de la plaque
French edit
Etymology edit
Literally, “next to the target”.
Pronunciation edit
Prepositional phrase edit
- (informal) off the mark, wide of the mark, off-beam, off-the-wall; beside the point, beside the mark
- être à côté de la plaque ― to be off the mark
- répondre à côté de la plaque ― to answer beside the point
Usage notes edit
- As an adjective, chiefly used predicatively.