This context comes from the book "The Shining" by Stephen King.
The narrator speaks of Jack(the main character) in this passage:
"The flower in his lapel was balanced off by a small lapel pin on the other side. It read simply STAF in small gold letters"
What I'm assuming from the context is that it means that the elegance of the flower in his lapel and the sense of higher status it might impart to a person, was reduced by the pin, which probably wasn't as elegant and it probably was very common looking, which lowered his status. I've difficulty finding the appropriate definition for the phrase or words "balance off". I know that balance means...
- To bring into or maintain in a state of equilibrium.(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language)
...and I assume that "off" in this case is an adverb but I'm not sure if I chose the right one. Here it is:
"off"
b. so as to be removed from, esp as a reduction: he took ten per cent off.(Collins English Dictionary)
Did I parse this phrase correctly or maybe this is just a phrasal verb I wasn't able to find?