[FFmpeg-devel] [PATCH] typo in site documentation

[Dave Dodge]

On Mon, Jun 18, 2007 at 05:30:06PM -0400, Gary Corcoran wrote:
> "First off" is really just slang, not proper English, which
> I interpret as just a slang version of "first of all", with the same
> meaning of "before we talk about anything else"...
> (I'm American, in case you're wondering)

FWIW, the OED has "first off" meaning "in the first place" or "to
begin with".  It's listed as a U.S. colloquialism.  Earliest quoted
use is by Mark Twain in 1880.

It mentions "first of all" as simply a strengthened phrasing of
"first".  Earliest quoted use is 1711.

                                                  -Dave Dodge