Off the chart(s)

자료: The Phrase Finder, http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/42/messages/1450.html

Re: Off the chart

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on August 16, 2005

In Reply to: Re: Off the chart posted by ESC on August 15, 2005

: : : when someone described a thing as "off the chart". What does he try to express?

: : : thanks!!

: : My opinion is that something is "off the chart" when it is so good (or bad) that it exceeds previous measurements, etc., recorded on a chart.

: UsingEnglish.com
: MEANING:
: If something goes off the chart, it far exceeds the normal standards, good or bad, for something.

: From Urban Dictionary online:
: Off the Chart 
: Older term... Same definition as Off the Chain.
: This party is off the chart.
: That girl/guy is off the chart

That's funny, I know this phrase was discussed here before, but I can't find it via Google. Anyway the upshot was that "off the chart" is good, except when you're talking about a hit record that drops "off the chart" when people get tired of it.

자료2: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/Chart

off the charts

1. much more than is usual. Basketball's TV income is already off the charts.

2. much better than usual. Groncki's newest restaurant is totally off the charts.

Etymology: based on the literal meaning of chart (= a way of presenting numbers or information in vertical rows)

Cambridge Dictionary of American Idioms © Cambridge University Press 2003