a room off a staircase

14:48 Jul 11, 2019
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Architecture
English term or phrase: a room off a staircase
Hi everyone!
I'm translating a short story by Ali Smith called Gothic, and at some point she writes this description:

"I much preferred working down on the ground floor; where I’d worked first, up in a room off a staircase at the back of the second floor"

I have no idea what the phrase "off a staircase" means. Would anyone please give me a hand? Thank you so much
A


SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +1a room reached by ascending a staircase
Cenk Başaran
4 +1a room accessed from the side of a staircase
airmailrpl


Discussion entries: 9





  

Answers


8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a room reached by ascending a staircase


Explanation:
This is used while referring to rooms such as those in the attic, etc. to where the only way to reach is a staircase.
In this example, the author means that the room she was working was reached through a staircase that started from a back room on the second floor.
Similar examples exist:

Example sentence(s):
  • https://lillicrapchilcottstorage.blob.core.windows.net/propertydetails/LCAA6256.pdf
  • https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/12/arts/art-view-boltanski-s-haunting-fragments-of-despair.html

    https://lillicrapchilcottstorage.blob.core.windows.net/propertydetails/LCAA6256.pdf
    https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/12/arts/art-view-boltanski-s-haunting-fragments-of-despair.html
Cenk Başaran
Türkiye
Local time: 15:20
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
1 hr

agree  Tony M: Though the 2nd sentence of your explanation is wrong: the room was located at the back on the second floor, reached by a staircase.
6 hrs

disagree  B D Finch: See discussion. If the room is off a staircase, that does not simply mean that it is reached by a staircase, but that there is no proper landing in front of the door.
12 hrs
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23 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
a room accessed from the side of a staircase


Explanation:
a room off a staircase => a room accessed from the side of a staircase

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Note added at 2 days 16 hrs (2019-07-14 07:47:42 GMT)
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room halfway up the staircase ooooooo | Dream Home...and things I ...
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/247205467025442714/
room halfway up the staircase ooooooo Villa Plan, Dream Rooms, House ..

airmailrpl
Brazil
Local time: 09:20
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in PortuguesePortuguese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): I saw this described recently as opening from a landing in a novel written in the 60s .
1 hr
  -> thank you
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