the.com/off the record

means Said or shared with the understanding that it won't be officially quoted, attributed, or reported.

from Draws on 'record' in its legal and journalistic sense — the official, written account of proceedings that can be checked and cited. Court records, meeting minutes, and press records are 'the record.' By the early-to-mid 20th century, journalists and officials used 'off the record' to mark information given outside that official account — spoken, but not for the books. The phrase has stayed close to its origin: it still means exactly what it says, something kept off the thing that gets kept.