What does to 'cry off' mean?

[rich7]

Test No. incompl/inter-43 "A Crying Shame", question 5

We had great hopes of being able to invite the distinguished writer to our meeting but he cried ......... at the last moment.

(a) on
(b) through
(c) with
(d) off

Test No. incompl/inter-43 "A Crying Shame", answer 5

We had great hopes of being able to invite the distinguished writer to our meeting but he cried off at the last moment.

Correct answer: (d) off

Your answer was: correct
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I don't understand the whole meaning.

[Torsten]

We thought we would be able to invite the famous writer to our meeting but at the last moment he changed his mind and decided not to accept our offer.
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Test Of English for International Communication
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