Off (pronunciation)

British English has two distinct pronunciations of off, one of which indicates a claim to social status.

• The usual pronunciation has the same vowel sound as that of 'on', 'dog' and 'job': IPA: /ɒf/.
• The marked RP pronunciation, used by a small minority of the population and identified as 'upper class' by most, uses the vowel of 'or', 'source', 'thought' and 'for': IPA: /ɔː^rf/.

When Princess Anne was competing for the Great Britain eventing team, the Sunday Times reported that "Princess Anne ... lost her temper with persistent photographers and told them to 'naff off' (1982). which was according to other media pronounced markedly as orff. ('Naff' in this context is a euphemism.)

There is also a noun orfe, pronounced exactly as the marked RP realization of 'off': IPA: /ɔː^rf/. This is the name of a fresh-water fish of the carp family, Leuciscus idus, also known as the ide.