"Go off" vs. "go" when describing an event

Question

I don't hear "go off" very often used in conjunction with "event" to mean "to happen." What is the difference between

It's amazing that our party went off so well!

and

It's amazing that our party went so well!

Is it a BrE/AmE thing?

Answer 1

Go off is used idiomatically with the meaning of:

​

to happen in a particular way:

• The protest march went off peacefully.

To go is used similarly with the following meaning:

to result or end; turn out:

• How did the game go?

To sum up, the two expression are very close in meaning.

Answer 2

A party "going off so well" strikes me as a rather old-fashioned way of speaking. I imagine a rather grand old lady (a dowager duchess, perhaps) saying such a thing. (The word "off" would be pronounced "orf" by such a lady.) The problem with going off is that exactly the same phrase is used in respect of a foodstuff that has become rotten or sour: "the milk has gone off, so you will have to manage without". Best avoided.