give someone the cold shoulder en · VERB
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
First recorded use of the expression was in 1816 by Sir Walter Scott in Scots (“The Countess’s dislike didna gang farther at first than just showing o’ the cauld shouther”.)
Meanings
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(idiomatic) To snub, resist or reject somebody; to regard somebody distantly.
The Pope had given him the cold shoulder, but since he had not prospered as a diplomatist, he had sought compensation as a man of the world, and his great flamboyant curricle and negro lackeys were for several weeks one of the striking ornaments of the Pincian.
1875 January–December, Henry James, Jr., Roderick Hudson, Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co., published 1876, →OCLC; republished as Roderick Hudson (EBook #176), U.S.A.: Project Gutenberg, 18 September 2016:I must have made him angry with my comment. He’s been giving me the cold shoulder ever since I said it.
“What will they do to me?” “They will give you the cold shoulder. Do you know what that means?” Daisy was looking at him intently; she began to color.
1879, Henry James, Daisy Miller, London: Harper & Brothers:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| turn a cold shoulder on someone | alternative | lexicographic | |
| turn the cold shoulder on someone | alternative | lexicographic | |
| given someone the cold shoulder | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| giving someone the cold shoulder | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| gives someone the cold shoulder | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| gave someone the cold shoulder | Tense=Past | lexicographic |
Translations (18)
fi kohdella jotakuta yliolkaisesti (snub) · cmn 不理不睬 (snub) · de die kalte Schulter zeigen (snub) · fr être en froid avec quelqu'un (snub) · uk д́ати гарбуза́ (snub) · cmn 冷落 (snub) · fr battre froid à quelqu'un (snub) · pl potraktować jak powietrze (snub) · fi olla ynseä jotakin kohtaan (snub) · es hacer el vacío (snub) · pl traktować jak powietrze (snub) · nl iemand links laten liggen (snub) · ja 白い目で見る (snub) · cmn 冷淡 (snub) · fi kohdella jotakuta kylmäkiskoisesti (snub) · fi kohdella jotakin ynseästi (snub) · es dar la espalda (snub) · ru оказа́ть холо́дный приём (snub)