Set 6 · Study 1 / 5

Exit

give someone the cold shoulder

idiom/ɡɪv ˈsʌmwʌn ðə koʊld ˈʃoʊldɚ/

to ignore someone or be unfriendly on purpose

I saw Craig at the movies last night but he gave me the cold shoulder. I asked him what was wrong, but he ignored me.

word origin — Possibly from medieval hospitality — welcome guests got hot meat; unwelcome ones got a cold shoulder of mutton.