有一读者问： 我在一本美国畅销小说中遇到这样一个句子：
(1)...the barber whom Pee Wee, by dint of hard work and superior tonsorial talent, had put of of business,...
如何理解这里的of of?
美国口语有off of的说法，这里的of of是off of的更加口语化的变体。off of即等于规范英语中的off，所以上述句（1）中的had put of of即等于规范英语中的had put off。to put somebody off business的意思是“将某人从行业中挤走”，所以上述句（1）即意为：Pee Wee仗着辛勤的劳动和卓越的理发才能将那个理发师搞得待不住了。off of在美国口语中并不罕见，再如：
(2)A book fell off of the shelf.
(3)Take the bag off of the peg.
(4)I'm going to tell you a secret that you could get rich off of .
(5)For a moment, he couldn't take his eyes off of the blood-spattered badge that his partner polished with a silicone cloth every afternoon before going on duty.
顺便提一下，在口语中还有off from （=from）的不规范说法，例如：
(6)The vase dropped off from the mantelpiece.
