Definition of: "off grid" with explanation and origin
Definition of: off grid with explanation and origin? Meaning of off grid with examples in English idiom dictionary.
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Definition of: "off grid" with explanation and origin
off grid
off-grid,
also, off-the-grid
Meaning
- disconnected from municipal utility systems.
- solidarity.
- to live entirely self-sufficiently; never needing outside help.
- hidden from the general population.
Example Sentences
- Tony built an off-grid bunker, complete with non-perishable food, a water purification system, and solar panels.
- After graduating college, some people choose to go off the grid to take a break from human interaction.
- It’s not illegal to live off-grid, however, the federal government doesn’t make it easy to accomplish.
Origin
There was a time when “off-grid” living wasn’t a choice. Utility companies didn’t exist as they do today, and as such, there were no power lines, municipal water sources, sewer systems, etc. Everything we call basic necessity today would have been considered a regal lifestyle.
As the modernization of municipal infrastructure became common, so did the blueprints for its creation. These blueprints are the layouts that are referred to as grids. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the westernized world became comfortable enough with these grids to have the choice to break away from them. This is when the idiom was born.
Much of the world still operates without utility grids, so it’s a very Western concept to consciously choose to live primitively. Food for thought: Even though one out of ten people on Earth has limited access to drinkable water, Western society chooses to defecate in clean water every day.
The Origins of off grid
Life, SocialEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
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English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
