Off the hook

    脱身

    A: How about going to the movies after work today?

    B: There's a meeting this afternoon and I'm afraid I cannot get off the hook by 6:30 p.m.

    A: I can wait. We can have dinner near the movie theater.

    B: Okay, I'll call you when I'm off the hook.

    Note: This means "freed from an obligation." It is fishing slang. If you are on the hook you are caught, trapped, obligated but if you get out of something, a commitment, or obligation you have been let off the hook. Typically we say "be off the hook," "get off the hook," "get someone off the hook," and "let someone off the hook."