How To Use Set off In A Sentence

  • My poor Lirriper was a handsome figure of a man, with a beaming eye and a voice as mellow as a musical instrument made of honey and steel, but he had ever been a free liver being in the commercial travelling line and travelling what he called a limekiln road — “a dry road, Emma my dear,” my poor Lirriper says to me, “where I have to lay the dust with one drink or another all day long and half the night, and it wears me Emma” — and this led to his running through a good deal and might have run through the turnpike too when that dreadful horse that never would stand still for a single instant set off, but for its being night and the gate shut and consequently took his wheel, my poor Lirriper and the gig smashed to atoms and never spoke afterwards. Mrs. Lirriper's Lodgings
  • Men with short back and sides dressed in gleaming white singlets and shorts set off downriver while a little coxswain in a cap urges them on.
  • With a lot of prodding and poking and pushing and cajoling, it set off with a spasmodic jerk.
  • Personnel from HMAS Anzac set off to do a tour of Egypt while the ship is anchored near the entrance to the Suez Canal.
  • The arrival of the charity van set off a minor riot as villagers scrambled for a share of the aid.
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  • Mrs Scott went across as a minuscule Great Lady - they should have seen Mrs Van L as she set off this morning! THE QUEST FOR K
  • After years working nine to five in a boring job, he set off to sail round the world.
  • If too comes after the adverb it is probably a disjunct (meaning also) and is usually set off with a comma:
  • She waved me off as I set off into the unknown territory of Park Mountain.
  • It serves one and tastes as good as it looks - the aromatic spices are nicely set off by a lightly spiced tomato sauce. The Sun
  • I propose to set off immediately.
  • Stems and leaves of green set off the dreamy chromatic harmony.
  • They were in a hurry to set off.
  • Where are you going, Rex?" said Anna one gray morning when her father had set off in his carriage to the sessions, Mrs. Gascoigne with him, and she had observed that her brother had on his antigropelos, the utmost approach he possessed to a hunting equipment. Daniel Deronda
  • The endearment set off another wave of warmth in her, another petal unfolding deep inside her. WHERE THE HEART IS
  • Matthew Jerrold was in the servery when Lister's shout set off the riot. THE SCAR
  • In Haptodus the canines are not sharply set off from the other dentition.
  • As I am aware that the jack hammers from the next block all last summer were intrusive and you know darn well the birds that roosted in the abandoned former furniture factory trees this past year nearly drove me out of my mind - before I decided to set off cohetes during the day and early evening to run them off, which worked, but drives your dogs crazy for which I am very sorry. Sound ordinance in ajijic?
  • So if you're too tired to exercise, you set off another vicious cycle.
  • In November 2000 they set off for a five-day training run and found themselves crewing the boat into the teeth of a force eight south-westerly gale.
  • We had a coffee and set off into the jungle under a full moon. Times, Sunday Times
  • Dilys emerged in something dark green and knitted, which set off her flame frizz of hair a treat. TICKLED PINK
  • The powder immediately ignited and set off a chain reaction of explosions.
  • As we set off for the airport I turn the car into a deep gutter. Times, Sunday Times
  • The shooting party set off shortly before dawn.
  • In a new study, researchers from London inserted the firefly gene that activates bioluminescent light into modified cancer cells, hoping to set off a chain of events that has a proven track record at fighting the disease.
  • I loaded up my rusting fishing tackle in the back of his wife's Lexus SUV (his BMW was in the shop for a $1,000 oil change), and off we went to his boathouse, from where we set off in his 40-foot twin-screw cruiser.
  • Apart from the dirt, the airborne dust could also set off a more impressive spectacle. Times, Sunday Times
  • I set off for a new adventure in the United States on the first day of the new year.
  • He set off in quest of adventure.
  • I propose to set off immediately.
  • Three hundred firemen and 400 policemen raced to the Hofburg after a smoke detector set off the alarm soon after midnight.
  • Early this morning the man of the house came over for me with a four-oared curagh -- that is, a curagh with four rowers and four oars on either side, as each man uses two -- and we set off a little before noon. The Aran Islands
  • Problems aside, at least this set offers the genuine article.
  • In November 2000 they set off for a five-day training run and found themselves crewing the boat into the teeth of a force eight south-westerly gale.
  • The driver set off without a backward glance and the conductor began issuing tickets.
  • We set off in quest of the perfect wedding dress.
  • They set off fireworks and threw objects at the police. Times, Sunday Times
  • After Hild had set off, plainly loath to leave Tera—though she seemed oblivious to his attraction—the remaining five had eaten as much unripened fruit as they could tolerate, then taken places around the fire to pass out. Kresley Cole Immortals After Dark: The Clan MacRieve
  • His golden skin and fair hair were artfully set off by the theatrical costume. A Patchwork Garden: Unexpected Pleasures from a Country Garden
  • A few weeks later, we set off at 6am on one of the bumpiest roads imaginable. Times, Sunday Times
  • A small explosive device was set off outside the UN headquarters today.
  • After a few miserable days at Flensburg, trying to make himself agreeable to Doenitz and to assert his importance; suffering humiliations that were a constant source of embarrassment to his staff; and deserted by many of his closest companions who had already set off on their private journeys to ranch cattle in the Argentine or collect butterflies in Switzerland, Barbarossa
  • The jones, the real smack was not the chemicals themselves, but the euphoria of the endless possibilities set off by the acquisition of the substance.
  • The arrival of the charity van set off a minor riot as villagers scrambled for a share of the aid.
  • The winter gold is the most wonderful color and really is set off by the red sparkleberry too. Sparkleberry And Winter Gold « Fairegarden
  • The sanitary issues of raising more than 50 Labradors in a pigpen apparently didn't set off any alarms, because with demand so high, all the puppies were sold even before they were born.
  • I set off for a new adventure in the United States on the first day of the new year.
  • At a slightly uneven stagger the coffin set off down the aisle.
  • Were these times any other than the politically charged times they are, the subsequent media firestorm set off by Miss Prejean's carryings-on would be similarly laughable. Michael Rowe: Regarding Miss California, At Least Anita Bryant Could Sing
  • The news that the chairman would resign set off seismic waves in the business community.
  • A sudden drop on Wall Street can set off a chain reaction in other financial markets.
  • Promising herself that she would explore it all properly later, she set off to find accommodation.
  • Without more/much/further ado, we set off.
  • Jack's remarks set off rumours that he had been elbowed aside.
  • What time will we have to set off for the station tomorrow?
  • The style, which was calculated for a cosmopolitan image, set off a sharp-featured almost ferretlike, approaching-fifty face that had been carefully preserved by a Dallas plastic surgeon. The Brush Off
  • The whaling ship Terra Nova sailed from New Zealand in November 1910 and the expedition set off from base the following October, with mechanical sledges, ponies and dogs.
  • He set off an alarm so waited for cops. The Sun
  • So, after a peek at the paintings and assemblages in the local art gallery we set off at a steady pace half-expecting to meet them.
  • They set off at an easy canter out across the meadowlands.
  • The procession, headed by a military-style cadet band, will set off from Malsis Road at 2pm.
  • I set off for the valley, trusting to luck.
  • I do wish we hadn't bottled out and set off the flare we found on the beach.
  • Dedicated fundraisers are set to take on everything from swarms of midges to blisters when they set off on a 100-mile walk.
  • I set off at a snail's pace to conserve my energy for later in the race.
  • We set off in a westerly direction .
  • A deadly manuscript bomb set off in an American city.
  • The roan gelding set off immediately and the buggy headed back down the road to pass under the large stone arch.
  • The Ritz sofa, created for the Dutch firm Gelderland by Rotterdam designer Bertjan Pot, has a wafer-like simplicity set off by its stiletto legs. Finding Tomorrow's Heirlooms Today
  • The boys inveigled their way into an open safe in the bank and then set off.
  • Miss Logan made indeterminate gestures to the priest, then set off in pursuit of her employer.
  • We set off to the scent of new mown grass.
  • Chichester set off once more in spite of his friends'attempts to dissuade him.
  • The Princess had a distinguished face, thin and drawn, set off by long black uncombed hair and she wore a long dark gown down to her feet.
  • These ten values are then set off into a third machine, the tide-predicter proper. Pioneers of Science
  • Evans and his crew returned victorious from the 1928-29 Surfboat Championships and set off to tackle the Bombora now breaking massively out to sea off the surf club.
  • Knowing all the consequences of making this trip alone, I set off early, laden with all the necessities José had put together for me. GYPSY MASALA
  • Old Cermit went frantic, set off a distress signal that brought a resurrection team from the Edge, and they brought her back. A PLAGUE OF ANGELS
  • On one occasion I set off from the friary to climb Muckish, but, a little later, the weather changed.
  • That set off a surge in prices for rare-earth minerals such as lanthanum, often used to make catalysts for refineries, and cerium, which is sometimes used in glass. China Inspects Rare-Earth Production
  • The change of plan set off a chain reaction of confusion.
  • He backed out of the hedge and set off at a steady lope up the lawn. THE COMPANY OF STRANGERS
  • But after a hot chocolate and a tube of foul-tasting energy gel I set off behind the others in the rain and mist to do my worst to Sa Calobra. Cycling gastro tour of Mallorca: meals on wheels
  • Huge blocks of pale turquoise were set off by strips of lemon yellow hems or belts, and oversized rainbow stripes crisscrossed the body on dresses and shell tops.
  • Finally, the great expedition set off for the long journey to the Holy Land.
  • Bound hand and foot, under an escort of thirty men, the next morning we set off to cross the deserts and prairies of Senora, to gain the Mexican capital, where we well knew that a gibbet was to be our fate. Travels and Adventures of Monsieur Violet
  • They set off after breakfast, heading east toward the mountain range barely visible in the distance.
  • The trio set off across the foggy moors of Innswich towards the long shadows of the town.
  • Clad in thermal underwear, a drysuit, flippers and gloves, and wearing weights on her legs and belt, she set off at midnight.
  • And so the reason that they went to this propane kind of gassing, that doesn't necessarily set off a lot of red flags. CNN Transcript Jul 1, 2007
  • The double dash is also used in comics to set off phrases within a sentence -- as in other written prose -- not just at the end of a broken off sentence. Nate Peikos’s Comics Punctuation
  • We are drinking sundowners by the Land Cruiser and musing that, if we set off on foot now, we'd still be nowhere in a week's time.
  • That slender and graceful figure, with its simple and elegant dress, which set off to the utmost the perfection of her form, looked certainly unlike the ungrown girl whom Lord Chetwynde had seen years before. The Cryptogram A Novel
  • Gahagan, Commanding Irregular Horse, Abmednuggar, to Belinda, second daughter of Major – General Bulcher, C.B. His Excellency the Commander-inChief gave away the bride; and after a splendid dejeune, the happy pair set off to pass the Mango season at Burlesques
  • The Princess had a distinguished face, thin and drawn, set off by long black uncombed hair and she wore a long dark gown down to her feet.
  • The crude wooden peg had been used as a makeshift trigger to set off the deadly device. The Sun
  • And he immediately set off at a jog-trot down an unapproved road near Aughnacloy or Swanllinbar or Lifford.
  • New intelligence indicates explosives set off to the side of the road are proving very deadly.
  • Because raw materials production and capacity the link exist safe hidden danger, the civic architecture concentrate of plus, set off the aperture clear lamp to kindle fire hazard very easily.
  • The meat of what they want to say in this book comes in the long, careful account of how cell and molecular biology has grown to its current ferment, which in turn set off the present explosive developments in embryology.
  • Adams, the runner, set off like a hare; so did the non-striker, Sean Ervine. Cork revels in Hampshire blend of dad's army and youth after t20 win
  • If it dallies, it might set off market jitters about rising prices. Houston Chronicle
  • They set off at a brisk pace .
  • I set off for a new adventure in the United States on the first day of the new year.
  • In December it got really bad… Doctor thinks it could have been set off by a bad sneeze (how sad is that), and my job (which is all sitting) compiled with a day of moving furniture, constantly carrying around my fat (25 lb) cat Tux… and even my chiropractor treatments (chiropractor was treating another problem with my sacroiliac, and misdiagnosed the leg pain as it as the IT band) made it really bad. Grumble grumble « knitnut.net
  • The first boats set off at dawn.
  • His shirt was soft silk, set off with a blue - and - white polka - dotted bow tie.
  • Every blink set off fireworks behind his eyelids.
  • I set off at a snail's pace to conserve my energy for later in the race.
  • The squalls abated and visibility improved, the valley funnelling down to Osmotherley cleared of mist and we set off that way.
  • Here he secured the "knockabout" horse, always kept saddled and bridled about the station for generally-useful work, and set off at a swinging canter up the paddock after his own steed. Outback Marriage, an : a story of Australian life
  • That should set off alarm bells for a software products company. Computing
  • That soaring something on the skyline, a problematic feature at best, set off an orgy of megalithic excess.
  • Because raw materials production and capacity the link exist safe hidden danger, the civic architecture concentrate of plus, set off the aperture clear lamp to kindle fire hazard very easily.
  • Ilderim and I and the remaining three waited until nightfall, and then set off on foot to the thicket where we were to rendezvous; there were the first six horses and a sowar waiting, and round about midnight Shadman and his companions came clattering out of the dark to join us, crowing with laughter. Fiancée
  • The fire was ignited by pyrotechnics set off as the heavy metal band Great White began their set.
  • We knew we couldn't stay too long, with school for him the next day, too - so, after a large meal and a good mooch on the beach for an hour, we set off for home.
  • They set off with the wind at their backs .
  • At the orienteering meets in which we participate, orienteers set off at 2-minute intervals on a given course.
  • His soloing, particularly on Hootie's Blues and his confessed favourite tune Cherokee is said to have set off wild dancing and fevered excitement among the concert goers.
  • He yelled and they set off, spurring their horses into a gallop.
  • One form of hypersensitivity pneumonitis is known as farmer's lung because the farmer inhales thermophilic actinomycetes in moldy hay that set off the reaction.
  • The royalist forces were now ready to engage, and set off for London. THE HERBALIST: Nicholas Culpeper Rebel Physician
  • Kitchener set off in uniform just after midnight on September 1 by special train and fast cruiser. Times, Sunday Times
  • At 27, the young Australian arrived in Alice Springs with six dollars, trained two wild camels (you try it), and set off for the Indian Ocean with the semiferal dromedaries, two tame ones, and her dog.
  • She dressed quickly, put on rubber boots and a waterproof, and set off along the footpath leading to Benbury Woods.
  • The sooner we set off, the sooner we will arrive.
  • If uncontrolled, the shortage would set off a new rise in meat prices.
  • We set off through the illuminated streets of nighttime London, round Hyde Park Corner, up Piccadilly and through the backstreets of Mayfair.
  • Even his jokes are the same ones he was telling when he set off on the campaign trail months ago.
  • Its 37 other rooms also offer impressive paintings set off by tasteful and elegant decor. Times, Sunday Times
  • We set off at a good clip, but we gradually slowed down.
  • Brick alcoves in the walls are set off with ornamental urns with pot plants.
  • And as the human life is properly said to be chequerwork, no doubt but a person of her prudence will make the best of it, and set off so much good against so much bad, in order to strike as just a balance as possible. Clarissa Harlowe
  • Inside are three full-scale soccer pitches, set off by allées of plane trees like those along the boulevard Port-Royal.
  • Cleopatra would never have set off to woo Mark Anthony armed with a single spritz of attar of roses.
  • We set off once more, over a rough mountain track.
  • Bring a bunch of broad spectrum antibiotics when you set off to satisfy your need for procreation and extratemporal lust; -) Ask MetaFilter
  • But some stretching of the leg, gluteal and back muscles before you set off is also important. Times, Sunday Times
  • Impulsively she set off at a run down the muddy path.
  • He climbed onto his horse and set off at a relaxed trot down the lane.
  • The reason for this double act becomes obvious the minute you set off.
  • Smoke from a cigarette will not normally set off a smoke alarm.
  • It really set off the mashed parsley spuds and the chicken. The Sun
  • At daybreak Miss Logan, now wearing the pistol at her belt, set off down the mountain with the guide.
  • Once changed we set off over the fell with the rain thankfully absent for the time being.
  • We duly set off, heading across the Eday Sound, a channel of water between Sanday and Eday about three miles across.
  • I inclose a statement of the Debtor & creditor account of the 'Remains' in order to show how far the sale to the present moment will set off against the expences yet unpaid. Letter 405
  • The band set off to record their thirteenth album.
  • Numerous teams of volunteers set off armed with litter-pickers and bags as dawn was breaking.
  • The news set off a rush of activity.
  • We set off next day on a full tank.
  • The powder immediately ignited and set off a chain reaction of explosions.Sentencedict
  • We have just taken chocolate, and, amidst a profusion of bows and civilities from the landlord, are preparing to set off for Mexico. Life in Mexico, During a Residence of Two Years in That Country
  • In Syracuse, as in countless other communities, 9/11 set off a phenomenon that may seem counterintuitive in an era of increasingly vocal Islamophobia.
  • On the day he was due to set off three of the crew bailed out for'personal reasons '. Times, Sunday Times
  • Streets were more like rivers as rescue teams set off in rubber dinghies to help stranded locals. Times, Sunday Times
  • It was a bright sunny day and we set off in high spirits .
  • Apparently, Leap had overestimated the amount of fresh food left in her larder and the chain on Archie's bicycle had come off as he set off for the grocer's.
  • From the intime bar in the back, set off with stone walls and lights that would look at home on "Mad Men," flow some sublime cocktails. Tom Sietsema on the Atlas Room: Two-chef restaurant lives up to name
  • After Pastor and Coon waded through a street turned pond to collect her bulldog, Chance, and her chubby Labrador, Max, they set off to find Mr. McCobb.
  • By 1.30 we were back at the saddle where Jeanie had the billy boiling, and thus refreshed we bid au revoir to the Matuki and the friendly keas and set off down the valley again.
  • Stress tends to set off the symptoms of diarrhea and gas, and sometimes constipation.
  • The two bikers today set off on the eighth stage, through Mauritania from Atar to Tidjikja.
  • In 1971 he set off for India on the hippie trail. Times, Sunday Times
  • There he saw that his dogs had roused a wild boar from its lair, and he set off on a chase.
  • The guard set off in pursuit of the thief.
  • Anthony picked himself up and set off along the track.
  • Walking its entirety takes four or five months and resolute determination: only about half of those who set off will make it. Times, Sunday Times
  • We reboarded the coach and set off on a magical mystery tour in search of tea.
  • We set off at a smart pace.
  • Now that imaging technology is used to detect glaucoma and to set off alarms waking drowsy lorry drivers by monitoring facial movements. Times, Sunday Times
  • We had set off without lunch, so we were pushovers.
  • The change of plan set off a chain reaction of confusion.
  • After the last supper on the final night, the team set off from the camp at midnight.
  • The chastened man set off into York, where his tanner bought him cow's liver, half a pound of onions, two penny ‘ducks’ and a packet of Woodbines, providing enough food for two days' dinner.
  • Despite the excitements it had to offer, I was happy to leave the pollution and sprawl of L.A. and set off for the shores of Tonga.
  • To load and discharge a “firelock” flintlock musket required no less than twelve commands that set off eighteen distinct motions. George Washington’s First War
  • The others heartily agreeing, the octette again set off in a hurry for the gymnasium. Marjorie Dean, College Sophomore
  • He put his bicycle clips on and set off.
  • Men of War and other shipping in a calm sea at Sunset off the Texel Henry Redmore
  • This was the season when I'd once again set off across the stubbly fields to school, the sky infused with a pumpkin light, and the first whiff of banger smoke on the air.
  • With Mr. Gogoladze at the wheel of a white two-door Niva jeep and carrying a pistol, the party set off in the morning for Mount Kazbek, near Georgia's border with Russia. Our Man in Tbilisi
  • I hung on to the back of his kilt as he set off in his stout brogues and little protection against the weather other than a sou'wester and a mackintosh.
  • That evening we set off to fish the harbour mouth from the rock wall.
  • He checked that the Demeter was good there till the morning, pushed his way through the crowd and set off along the great scythe of beach. AMAGANSETT
  • Minutes later he was back to hand the baton to the next runner who set off towards Smithy Bridge as smiling onlookers applauded and yelled their support.
  • In the 2000 ceremony, to make up for lost time, the Church created 860 additional saints, making this by far the biggest cannonade of saints ever set off in Russia.
  • Potassium perchlorate is the oxidizing agent used to set off fireworks.
  • The horses set off at a walk.
  • Determined to help, he raised a few thousand Swiss francs in his home valley and set off. Times, Sunday Times
  • The coin landed tails, the outback was their destination and the pair set off in a T model Ford, nicknamed Henrietta.
  • Dark Angel was set in a future in which terrorists had set off a nuclear device high in the atmosphere, created an electromagnetic pulse and in one swift second, set the U.S. back about 70 years in the blick of an eye. Archive 2009-06-01
  • NEW DELHI/BANGALORE: Last week's bombings at the M. Chinnaswamy stadium in Bangalore have set off an intense debate on the safety of India's sports venues. The Hindu - Front Page
  • Playing the twitchy bantamweight to Sean P. 's hulking heavyweight, Buckshot bounced onto the stage almost three hours in and powered through Black Moon standards "Buck 'Em Down" and "I Got Cha Opin," then set off the night's second mosh pit with the whole Boot Camp performing the Jamaican dance hall-influenced smash "Sound Bwoy Bureill. Music review: Boot Camp Clik at Liv
  • Smoke from a cigarette will not normally set off a smoke alarm.
  • The focal point is a rocky stream that takes up the lower midsection of the painting, while to the far left one can see a gently curving road, set off by a low fence.
  • When I set off for work this morning, I forgot to take into account the strong northerly winds, and took my brolly instead of a waterproof.
  • You've set off the security scanner at the airport. The Sun

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