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off fifteen

English translation: (just) off the road numbered '15'

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:off fifteen
Selected answer:(just) off the road numbered '15'
Entered by: Tony M

16:13 Apr 15, 2020
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Real Estate / Description of a house in a novel by Patricia Highsmith
English term or phrase: off fifteen
It's a wonderful cottage in the woods. Do you know that little house off fifteen about two miles south of East Lyme? I thought I once drove you up the road to show it to you.
Alexander Alexandrov
Russian Federation
Local time: 18:22
(just) off the road numbered '15'
Explanation:
Usually, we might say ' a house on XXX road' — so 'off' likely implies that you get to it via this road, but maybe it isn't actually right on the road.

As for 'fifteen', it all depends a bit on what country this is from and how they express road numbers; presumably the person talking assumes that the listener is familiar enough with local geography to know what they are referring to... I wouldn't expect to hear it expressed this way in EN-GB: we would likely use a definite article: "that nice little thatched pub on the A35", or even, if both parties knew the area well: "that nice little thatched pub on the '35". But I know that in the US for example, they don't tend to use the article: "That bar on the corner of Broadway and 42nd" — which makes me think this is possibly a US text?


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Note added at 41 mins (2020-04-15 16:55:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There's certainly a place called 'East Lyme' in Connecticut, USA.
However, I can't find any road with a '15' in its number in the vicinity, nor any 'Fifteenth Street', for example.
Selected response from:

Tony M
France
Local time: 17:22
Grading comment
Thank you, Tony!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +7(just) off the road numbered '15'
Tony M
4 -2The one house out off a group of fifteen houses
Rui Pedro


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
The one house out off a group of fifteen houses


Explanation:
Common expression

Rui Pedro
Portugal
Local time: 16:22
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MPGS: :-)
10 mins
agree  Natalia Potashnik
10 mins
disagree  Tony M: If it were 'one of fifteen', that might be plausible; but with 'off', no way
19 mins
disagree  Lydia De Jorge: Agree with Tony M. It would be 'of' not 'off'.
46 mins
disagree  Yvonne Gallagher: The word is "OFF", not (out) "OF"
3 hrs
disagree  AllegroTrans: not "out off" which isn't English
2 days 8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

34 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
(just) off the road numbered '15'


Explanation:
Usually, we might say ' a house on XXX road' — so 'off' likely implies that you get to it via this road, but maybe it isn't actually right on the road.

As for 'fifteen', it all depends a bit on what country this is from and how they express road numbers; presumably the person talking assumes that the listener is familiar enough with local geography to know what they are referring to... I wouldn't expect to hear it expressed this way in EN-GB: we would likely use a definite article: "that nice little thatched pub on the A35", or even, if both parties knew the area well: "that nice little thatched pub on the '35". But I know that in the US for example, they don't tend to use the article: "That bar on the corner of Broadway and 42nd" — which makes me think this is possibly a US text?


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 41 mins (2020-04-15 16:55:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

There's certainly a place called 'East Lyme' in Connecticut, USA.
However, I can't find any road with a '15' in its number in the vicinity, nor any 'Fifteenth Street', for example.


Tony M
France
Local time: 17:22
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you, Tony!
Notes to answerer
Asker: I was thinking in the same direction.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lydia De Jorge: 100%
21 mins
  -> Thanks, Lydia!
agree  philgoddard: Expressing it as a word rather than a number is a mistake. And no, I couldn't find a 15 in East Lyme, CT either.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Phil! That's what made me think perhaps of 'Fifteenthe St' etc. — we'd never say 'Route Sixty-Six', would we?!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: it's a novel! It doesn't have to be a real address, so no need to look for a road called that!
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Yvonne! Well no, but it would have helped clear up the mystery ;-)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X)
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Tina!
agree  Katya Kesten: I think it's off Route 15 but we'd (US) use an article if it was a freeway (off the 405, the 10).
17 hrs
  -> Thanks, Katya!
agree  AllegroTrans: As Yvonne says, it's probably all fictional and in any case the translator presumably has a certain dgree of poetic licence to translate this to something culturally comprehensible to speakers of the target language
2 days 7 hrs
  -> Thanks, C!
agree  Sarah Simmonds: could be highway 15, interstate 15, route 15, etc.
4 days
  -> Thanks, Sarah!
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