No one knows, huh?

[jeb101]

Never happened before - how do I get rid of it?

And doc I now open - no matter what or how old, has "markup" enabled.  Even a new doc.

I can go to review and change it and doc goes back to normal.  I save the doc and when I open it again the "markup" is back.

HOW DO I GET IT TO STAY OFF?

[#2]

@jeb101 

To permanently get rid of tracked changes in a document, you have to accept all changes and turn off the tracking. If you have Word for Windows, use the command at Review tab > Changes group > Accept > Accept All Changes and Stop Tracking.

If you are saying that new, blank documents start with Track Changes enabled, you can rename the Normal template, with Word closed; see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/word/issues-when-start-or-use-word#option5 . The settings will revert to factory defaults.