off ‧ ing /ˈɒfɪŋ $ ˈɒː-, ˈɑː-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: offing 'part of the deep sea that you can see from the shore' (17-20 centuries) , from off ]
be in the offing to be likely to happen soon:
Big changes were in the offing.
off ‧ ing /ˈɒfɪŋ $ ˈɒː-, ˈɑː-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: offing 'part of the deep sea that you can see from the shore' (17-20 centuries) , from off ]
be in the offing to be likely to happen soon:
Big changes were in the offing.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. Longman - Словарь современного английского языка. 2012