the brush-off

noun phrase

informal

: rude treatment or behavior by someone who is not interested at all in what another person wants or asks for

I wanted to ask him about his decision but he gave me the brush-off.

I got the brush-off when I asked her for help.

Examples of the brush-off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

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Lynch sometimes ventures outside the RV to try and recruit smokers lingering around the clinic’s locations in Pennsylvania, but usually receives the brush-off. —

Tribune News Service, Hartford Courant, 1 Jan. 2024

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“The brush-off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20brush-off. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.

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