Take Off vs. Take Off (On Someone): What’s the Difference?
Take off means to leave or depart quickly. It doesn’t carry any negative meaning. It’s just about leaving, whether it’s a vehicle or a person.
Examples:
“The plane took off at 9 AM.”
“She took off without saying goodbye.”
However, “take off (on someone)” means to abandon or leave someone suddenly or unexpectedly, often in a hurtful way.
Examples:
“He took off on me when I needed help.”
“She just took off on her friends.”
“Take off” is neutral and it just means to leave. “Take off on someone” is much more personal, negative and refers to being abandoned by someone.
Clip 1
Vendetta – (2022)
In the 2022 action-thriller Vendetta, there’s a playful moment where William steps out of his car briefly to grab something. Before leaving, he turns to his teenage daughter, Kat, and says, “Be right back, don’t be taking off on me.” While Kat is clearly too young to drive, William jokingly implies she might take the car and leave.
Grammar Tip: “Don’t be + verb + ing”
The phrase “Don’t be taking off on me” uses the present continuous in the negative “Don’t be + verb + ing”. This structure is more colloquial and commonly heard in casual, spoken English. It adds a conversational tone, often conveying extra emotion, emphasis, or humour.
In this scene, the casual tone of “Don’t be taking off on me” adds to the humour. William doesn’t genuinely believe his daughter will drive away, but the phrase allows him to turn the moment into a joke.
Clip 2
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – (2012)
In Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Sean, who is speaking to Hank (his stepfather), says, “I’ve had a lot of people take off on me in my life, and I don’t want you to be one of them.” Sean is expressing his fear of being abandoned, especially after his father left him and his mother when he was young.
Clip 3
Flatliners – (2017)
In Flatliners (2017), Jamie has an emotional moment with his ex-wife, Alicia.
Jamie saying “I came to apologise for taking off on you” means that he left without warning or explanation, abandoning Alicia and their son. He regrets his actions and acknowledges how wrong it was to leave them when they needed him most.
Jamie is expressing his guilt for suddenly leaving. The phrase highlights how he abandoned his family and the pain it caused.
Clip 4
Anger Management – (2003)
Dave (Adam Sandler) is at a restaurant with Kendra (Heather Graham), who is one of the people in his anger management group. They have just finished eating, and Dave is feeling frustrated. Kendra invites him to her apartment, but he is hesitant and doesn’t want to go since he is married.
Before this, Dave had been talking to his therapist, Dr. Rydell, and he expected a ride home from him later. However, Dr. Rydell suddenly leaves the restaurant without saying anything. This is why Dave is angry when he releases that Dr. Rydell’s car is not in the parking lot and shouts the phrase “My friend took off on me!”
Dave also says beforehand “You gotta be kidding me” which is a casual phrase used to express surprise. It can be used to express being positively surprised or for negative disbelief. In this clip Dave says it to express negative disbelief.