etymology - "Where do you get off...?" Origin


I remembered a phrase this morning "Where do you get off...?" (last entry), which is similar to "Who do you think you are...?" or "What gives you the right to...?" or "How dare you...?".


Due to its scarcity in my favorite online dictionaries, I wondered if the phrase was new. But it's been used as early as 1913.


Wanting to know its origin I found this discussion with several good ideas, including "Where do you get off...?" being:



  • The same as "Where (on Earth) could you get away with...?"

  • About transportation, whether related to ego trip or a physical stop of some importance

  • Related to Schadenfreude


But the discussion is informal. Is there formal evidence for what the original implication of "Where do you get off...?" was?




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