Word of the Day: Write-off
If something is a write-off, it’s no longer able to be used, or it was a complete waste of time.
The car in the accompanying picture was caught up in a tornado. As you can see, it is no longer drivable. Therefore it’s a complete write-off.
The only thing that the owner can do is collect the insurance money (hopefully) and purchase another vehicle.
In cases where insured items are damaged or destroyed, they are written off the books of the insurance company. Imagine the insurance company drawing a red line through the article in the documents signifying the item no longer exists.
Regarding time, we could think about the TPP. The United States is no longer taking part in the TPP.
All the time that the participating countries spent negotiating with the United States was a complete waste of time and therefore, a write-off.
In extreme cases, we can also consider individuals to be lost causes and write them off. Unfortunately, some people participate in illegal activities such as drugs or theft.
If these people refuse help, others may consider them to be write-offs. What I mean is they will consider them as lost causes and either throw them in jail or start to ignore them.
It’s sad, but it happens every day.