Give someone the cold shoulder

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Meaning

Deliberately ignore someone or treat them with conspicuous unfriendliness or lack of interest.

Origin

The expression emerged in British English in the early 19th century. Word Histories has identified an 1808 newspaper joke in which an inhospitable landlord treats an uninvited visitor to a 'cold shoulder.' Walter Scott then used the Scots wording 'showing of the cauld shouther' in The Antiquary (1816), where his glossary explained it as appearing cold and reserved, and used 'tip him the cold shoulder' in 1823. The 1808 example plays on literal and figurative meanings, so it does not prove the familiar story that hosts customarily served cold shoulder meat to signal that a guest should leave. The exact path into the idiom, and whether Scott borrowed an existing spoken expression, remains uncertain.

Research Sources

  1. meaning and origin of the phrase 'the cold shoulder' Word Histories
  2. give someone/something the cold shoulder Cambridge University Press
  3. The Antiquary - Complete Project Gutenberg
  4. Cold shoulder Phrase Finder

Variants

  • Give the cold shoulder
  • Show someone the cold shoulder
  • Cold-shoulder someone

Usage Examples

  • After the argument, Priya gave me the cold shoulder throughout dinner.
  • Several distributors gave the unfamiliar product the cold shoulder at first.
  • His former colleagues gave him the cold shoulder when he returned to the conference.

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