cuff [LME] Before it came to refer to the end of a sleeve, cuff meant ‘a glove or mitten’. Its origin is unknown, and it does not appear to be connected to the verb sense ‘to hit or punch’, which is mid 16th century and also of unknown origin. The expression off the cuff, meaning ‘without preparation’, dates from the 1930s, and was first used in the USA. It comes from the idea of a person making a speech and relying on notes they have jotted down on their shirt cuffs rather than reading out a prepared script.