Welcome to the Grammar Minute, where we’re saving the English language sixty seconds at a time! I’m Lauren Smyth, and today we’re going to talk about “based off” versus “based on.” There’s not much to say on this subject, fortunately. This is one of those cases where English is mercifully rules-based and there’s not a whole lot of room for exception. In short, “Based on” is correct. “Based off” is never correct.

“Based off” seems to be a relatively new mistake, and Merrian Webster said that while there’s no consensus on exactly where it came from, it definitely appeared in some late 70s and 80s articles in prominent newspapers. Maybe that’s a sign that it will soon be accepted into English grammar as an acceptable variation on the original phrase. Buuuut, for now, it’s still officially considered a mistake.

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