Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
give someone the air en · VERB
Meanings
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(dated, slang) To jilt or ditch a lover.
Soon, you might think, a lone figure dressed in tails and a top-hat — Fred Astaire, or maybe Gene Kelly — would appear and dance his way from one of those spots to the next, singing about how lonely a fellow could be when his best girl had given him the air and all the bars were closed.
1991, Stephen King, Needful Things:Mrs. Mac turned back toward downtown and I said, "What do you mean my girl gave me the air? […]
1946, The Saturday Evening Post, volume 218, page 24:“The slick-haired dame's give him the air!” he says.
1927, Sunset, volume 59, page 64:
Forms