Select the most appropriate meaning of the given idiom. Off and on

Correct — A. "Off and on" (also written "on and off") means something happens at irregular intervals — it starts, stops, and starts again.

Test it by substitution: "It rained off and on all day" = "It rained now and then all day". Both report an activity broken by gaps.

"Now and then" names exactly that frequency → option (a).

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  Know something thoroughly — Know something thoroughly is the sense of "know it inside out". "Off and on" measures how often something happens, not how well it is known.
• (c)
  Object to — Object to reads the word "off" literally, as refusal or as switching something off. The idiom's "off" marks a gap in time, not opposition.
• (d)
  Remind — Remind has no link to the phrase at all. It catches a candidate guessing from the shape of the words instead of from the idiom.

An idiom is a fixed phrase whose meaning does not follow from the words inside it, so it has to be learnt whole.

"Off and on" belongs to a family of English frequency idioms: once in a while, every now and again, from time to time. All of them sit between "never" and "regularly".

The pair can be said either way round: "off and on" and "on and off" mean the same thing.

What you cannot do is swap a word. "On and on" is a different phrase altogether and means continuously, without stopping.

Key facts

• "Off and on" and "on and off" are the same idiom and mean intermittently.
• The idiom answers "how often", not "how much" or "how well".
• "Now and then", "once in a while" and "from time to time" are its close synonyms.

Common traps

• Splitting the idiom and translating "off" as switching off or refusing.
• Confusing it with "on and on", which means continuously.

No directly related past PYQ was found.