set off
To decorate through contrast; balance by difference.
The bright colors of the birds were set off by the white snow.
A small gold pin set off her plain dark dress.
To balance; make somewhat equal.
Her great wealth, as he thought, set off her plain face.
To begin to go.
They set off for the West in a covered wagon.
We set out for the top of the mountain at dawn. Unfortunately, as we set off, it started to snow heavily, so we decided to head out again later.
To cause to begin.
A letter from home set off an attack of homesickness.
An atomic explosion is created by setting off a chain reaction in the atom.
To cause to explode.
On July 4 we set off firecrackers in many places.
shake off
To get away from when followed; get rid of; escape from.
A convict escaped from prison and shook off the officers trying to follow him.
Tom could not shake off his cold.
shoot off one's mouth
shoot off one's face
To give opinions without knowing all the facts; talk as if you know everything.
Tom has never been to Florida, but he's always shooting his mouth off about how superior Florida is to California.
I want to study the problem before I shoot off my face.
The editor of the newspaper is always shooting his mouth off about the trouble in Africa.
show off
To put out nicely for people to see; display; exhibit.
The Science Fair gave Julia a chance to show off her shell collection.
The girls couldn't wait to show off their fine needlework to our visitors.
Mary showed her large wedding ring off to all her friends.
To try to attract attention; also, try to attract attention to.
The children always show off when we have company.
Joe hasn't missed a chance to show off his muscles since that pretty girl moved in next door.
Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, but I don’t like the way she shows off in front of everyone. It’s very obvious that she enjoys being a showoff.
showoff
A boastful person.
Jim always has to be the center of attention; he is an insufferable showoff.
Elizabeth is an excellent swimmer, but I don’t like the way she shows off in front of everyone. It’s very obvious that she enjoys being a showoff.
shrug off
shrug away
To act as if you are not interested and do not care about something; not mind; not let yourself be bothered or hurt by.
Alan shrugged off our questions; he would not tell us what had happened.
Muriel shrugged away every attempt to comfort her.
The ballplayer shrugged off the booing of the fans.
Jim cut his hand but he tied a cloth around it and shrugged it away.
shut off
To make (something like water or electricity) stop coming.
Please shut off the hose before the grass gets too wet.
To be apart; be separated from; also to separate from.
Our camp is so far from the highway we feel shut off from the world when we are there.
The sow is so bad tempered we had to shut it off from its piglets.
shy away
shy off
To avoid; seem frightened or nervous.
The boys shied away from our questions.
The horse shied off when Johnny tried to mount it.