Origin of 'come off'

Posted by Smokey Stover January 31, 2005In reply to Origin of 'come off' posted by Joe Grocott-James on January 30, 2005

Does anyone know the origin of the phrase 'come off', meaning to succeed in something?

The OED lists three meanings for "come off," not including the one Mr. Grocott-James is inquiring about. I think the word as used to mean "to succeed" is probably a 20th-century derivative of the first meaning attested in the MWOD, as follows:
"Main Entry: come off
Date: 1596
intransitive senses
1 a : to acquit oneself : FARE b : APPEAR, SEEM
2 : SUCCEED "

I daresay that the TV Guide did not coin this particular usage, but adopted an already common colloguial use. SS