Off the hook' is an idiom that means to be released from a difficult situation or obligation. The crossword solutions for this term are INSANE (6 letters), FREE (4 letters), EXONERATED (10 letters), EXEMPT (6 letters), HOMEFREE (8 letters), and PARDONED (8 letters). All of these words can be used to describe someone who has been freed from a difficult situation or obligation. For example, someone who has been EXONERATED from a crime has been freed from the obligation of being punished for it. Similarly, someone who has been PARDONED has been freed from the obligation of serving a sentence.