What it means
Something that’s finished, ruined, or so busted it’s not worth fixing. You’ll hear it loads with cars after a smash, when the insurer calls it beyond economical repair and scraps it. By extension, any disaster of a night out, date, haircut, or plan can be a write-off if it’s gone properly pear-shaped. You can even call a person a write-off when they’re hopeless or absolutely steaming.
Usage examples
"Picked up the motor from the garage and the bloke goes, nah mate, it’s a write-off. At least the dashcam caught Dave screaming about a rogue pigeon"
"The new gazebo from the garden centre is an absolute write-off after Saturday’s gale, the canvas is in the neighbour’s hedge and the metal frame folded itself like origami around the rotary washing line."
"Today has been a write-off from the moment the kettle leaked into the toaster at quarter past seven. I am going to pop the dog under the duvet and start fresh on Tuesday like a sensible adult would."
"That laptop's a write-off after Jay tipped lager straight into the keyboard. It makes one sad beep and gives up on life."
"We tried rescuing the night after the pub kicked us out, but once Connor lost his shoes and booked a taxi to the wrong city, it was a total write-off."
Where it comes from
It started life in bookkeeping in the 1800s, where a write-off was money or an asset taken off the books because it was gone, bad, or not recoverable. By the early 1900s, insurers and the motor trade were using it for smashed cars not worth repairing, then everyday English grabbed it for anything beyond saving.
Other ways to say it
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