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Idioms and Phrases

Become transferred to another, influence through close contact, as in We hoped some of their good manners would rub off on our children . This idiom alludes to transferring something like paint to another substance by rubbing against it. [Mid-1900s]

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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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