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[A. Maberry]

For this northern West Coast native, "out of pocket" means expenses
requiring an outlay of one's own cash, as in to be reimbursed for "out of
pocket expenses". The usage of "out of pocket" to mean unreachable might
be a California thing, but I've never heard it used that way in Oregon or
Washington.

allen
maberry at u.washington.edu


On Thu, 14 Mar 2002, Mark Lechter wrote:

> My friend and I have a question regarding the proper usage of
> "out-of-pocket."  I say it relates to either "requiring an outlay of
> cash" or "having little or no money."
>
> My partner uses the term with reference to not being available by phone
> or otherwise.  He will tell people that he could not contact them or
> that they could not contact him because he was "out-of-pocket" for a
> while (i,e - he was in California and incommunicado).  He says it is
> West Coast slang (he is from the West and I am from the East), but I
> just think that it' is the wrong usage.
>
> Can anybody help us settle this matter?
>
> Mark Lechter
> NYC
>