In vaudeville the stooge's traditional role was to give the comic something to work off of, a straight line or a bit of business.
With the exception of Alan Ruck, I didn't change anybody's character, so they had something to work off of.
"That's less of an issue today because you're working off a tablet or something".
Dr. Bellitto said: "Every professor in the universe knew exactly what he was doing, which was to start a lecture with something provocative and work off of that.
"Ang's a unique director because he trained to be an actor," Mr. Leung said by e-mail from China, where he is shooting a film with John Woo. "He's very quick and intuitive and is always offering his actors something new to work off of".
S3: Manipulate or work off of already [collected data], how nature manipulates the variable, then you will just [use] opportunistic sampling or something.
"This is an exemplary case of hard work paying off, something to which aspiring students of archaeology should pay close attention".
The chatty 40-somethings worked off one another like a comic duo.
— The Sunday after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, several dozen friends climbed a mountain to make a declaration, and to do something to work off their awful, anxious energy.
