American Idiom: give someone the cold shoulder
To give someone the cold shoulder means to treat someone in an unfriendly way, often by ignoring or showing contempt for the person.
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Watch the full video below to learn about the idiom, to give someone a cold shoulder.
Video Transcript
Jane was very upset at her husband for forgetting their anniversary. She gave him the cold shoulder for the whole day.
What’s the meaning of the cold shoulder here?
The cold shoulder here refers to an act of displaying contempt. Her husband should not have forgotten their anniversary.
to give someone the cold shoulder – means to treat someone in an unfriendly way, often by ignoring or showing contempt for the person
Here are example sentences :
When I walked into a luxury store wearing casual clothes with slippers, the sales clerks at the store gave me the cold shoulder.
I thought she was giving me the cold shoulder. I didn’t know she was having difficult times.
Let’s do an exercise to better remember the Idiom.
For each question, replace a word or words in a sentence with the idiom so that the meaning of the sentence is not changed. You have five seconds per question.
Question 1:
Julia was an uninvited guest. No wonder everyone either ignored her or showed contempt for her at the party.
Julia was an uninvited guest. No wonder everyone gave her the cold shoulder at the party.
Question 2:
Treating your partner by ignoring or showing contempt, instead of trying to talk things out, can ruin the relationship.
Giving the cold shoulder to your partner , instead of trying to talk things out, can ruin the relationship.
Practice makes perfect!
A working knowledge of frequently used idioms is essential in order to naturally communicate with Americans. Learn to speak English fluently with Poly Languages.
More questions here!
Question 1:
I thought she really liked me, but the next day she just ignored me.
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Question 2:
She thinks you started that rumor about her, that’s why she’s been ignoring you all day.
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