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off the hook
Also,. Released (or be released) from blame or annoying obligation, as in He was out of town during the robbery so he was off the book, or I don't know how the muggers got off the hook, or Once they found the real culprit, they let Mary off the hook. This idiom alludes to the fish that manages to free itself from the angler's hook and get away. [Mid-1800s]
Example Sentences
He added that it "doesn't touch the sides in enacting fundamental reform - especially if water companies can still workaround bonuses and wriggle off the hook".
Sinner had two set points in the first set but hit a backhand return wide to let defending French Open champion Alcaraz off the hook.
It was a gripping battle between the two 36-year-olds, which appeared on a knife-edge until Cacace made the big breakthrough and he was in no mood to let the home favourite off the hook.
"He played poor and let me off the hook," O'Sullivan said.
"We were a little bit untidy. Our maul could have been better and we let them off the hook at times," he told BBC.
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