Playing the ball on with a single touch instead of controlling it. German pitches shout 'Klatsch!' for it; in English it is simply a first-time lay-off.
You receive with your back to goal and a defender glued to you — controlling, turning and looking up simply takes too long. Laying it off means the ball comes in hard, you redirect it back or square with one touch, and because you were the one being marked, your team-mate is free. The key is treating that touch as a pass rather than a defensive swipe: firm foot, surface facing the target, otherwise the move dies in a half-clearance. The second mistake is in your eyes — you decide where the lay-off goes before the ball arrives, not after. One shoulder check while it is still travelling is enough. And not every backward pass is a lay-off: if you have time and nobody breathing down your neck, turn and play forward. Laying it off is the answer to tight space, not a reflex for every ball.