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cold shoulder
1[ kohld shohl-der ]
noun
- a show of deliberate indifference or disregard.
adjective
- Also cold-shoul·der. (of a sleeved garment) having a portion of each sleeve cut out, leaving the shoulders exposed:
cold shoulder tops for everyday wear;
a cold-shoulder dress.
cold-shoulder
2[ kohld-shohl-der ]
verb (used with object)
- to snub; show indifference to.
cold shoulder
noun
- the cold shouldera show of indifference; a slight
verb
- to treat with indifference
cold shoulder
- To “give someone the cold shoulder” is to ignore someone deliberately: “At the party, Carl tried to talk to Suzanne, but she gave him the cold shoulder.”
Word History and Origins
Origin of cold shoulder1
Origin of cold shoulder2
Idioms and Phrases
Deliberate coldness or disregard, a slight or snub. For example, When I said hello to her in the library, she gave me the cold shoulder and walked away . This term, which first appeared in writings by Sir Walter Scott and others, supposedly alludes to the custom of welcoming a desired guest with a meal of roasted meat, but serving only a cold shoulder of beef or lamb—a far inferior dish—to those who outstayed their welcome. [Early 1800s]Example Sentences
Beyoncé, months after lamenting not “being country ‘nough” in “Cowboy Carter,” is getting the cold shoulder from the country music scene — again.
What if the company just gave this guy the cold shoulder?
China also has turned a cold shoulder to a Ukraine peace conference that is set to be hosted by Switzerland in June and snubs Russia.
Colin is disheartened to find Penelope giving him the cold shoulder, and so offers to help her in her pursuit of a husband in order to win back her friendship.
Now, however, she is getting the cold shoulder from Republican colleagues.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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