Outta sight
Fantastic, wonderful; often an exclamation of delight.
- Origin: 1890s New York street slang; revived in the 1960s
- On the Slang-o-matic wheel: Boomers (born 1946–1964). That is who the translator files it under, not a claim that this generation coined it.
What it means
Outta sight (also written out of sight or out-of-sight) means fantastic or wonderful. It works two ways. Before a noun it praises something: an outta sight guitar solo. On its own it is an exclamation of delight, close to “Wow!” Dictionary.com describes that second use as an interjection meaning “Wonderful!”
Be careful with the plain, non-slang phrase. “The prices are out of sight” can mean the prices are far too high, a sense Cambridge also lists. Context usually tells you which one you are hearing.
Where it comes from
The phrase is far older than the Boomers. Green’s Dictionary of Slang quotes a language researcher’s note that out-of-sight was “Bowery slang for astonishingly excellent in the 1890s,” from the streets of lower Manhattan, and that there is little evidence of it again until the early 1960s.
Then it came back. Green’s cites Hunter S. Thompson’s 1966 book on the Hell’s Angels, where a rider says “Man, that Jack was outta sight,” followed by several 1970s novels using it the same way.
Who says it now
The translator files outta sight under Boomers; its 1960s revival came as older Boomers were reaching early adulthood. In our observation it is uncommon in everyday speech today and turns up mainly as a cheerful, deliberately retro exclamation.
Tone
Upbeat and a little theatrical; in its slang sense it is not offensive. “Outta sight!” sounds like it belongs next to a guitar solo. From a younger speaker it often reads as nostalgic or jokey.
What adults hear, what kids mean
An older listener will probably hear praise. A younger listener may only know the literal phrase, as in “out of sight, out of mind,” or the price sense, and miss that it is a compliment at all. If a grandparent tells a teenager their drawing is outta sight, it helps to add “That means it’s great.”
How to use it
It works as an adjective (“an outta sight solo”) or, more often, as a one-phrase exclamation: “Outta sight!”
Two examples, written by us:
- You fixed the record player? Outta sight!
- The fireworks over the lake were outta sight this year.
How to answer it
In most uses it is a big compliment: “Thanks, I worked hard on it” is plenty. If money is involved, check which sense was meant: “Outta sight good, or outta sight expensive?”
Same idea, other generations
The Slang-o-matic wheel files Outta sight under Boomers for the idea of unbelievable. These are the words it files under the same idea, by generation. They are related, not always exact translations:
Related slang
- Groovy (Boomers): Excellent, pleasing or very fashionable.
- Rad (Gen X): Excellent, exciting. Short for radical.
- Kick it (Gen X): To relax and hang out, usually with friends.
Try the slang translatorAll slang by generation
Sources
Meanings and dates on this page come from these dictionaries. Each quote is copied word for word from the linked page.
- Dictionary.com
“This phrase is also used as an interjection meaning “Wonderful!””
- Cambridge Dictionary
“The group's new record is out of sight!”
- Green's Dictionary of Slang
“out-of-sight was Bowery slang for astonishingly excellent in the 1890s”
“1966 H.S. Thompson Hell’s Angels (1967) 180: Man, that Jack was outta sight.”