Rate this phrase:4.5 / 2 votes

Cold Shoulder

To show unfriendly attitude to someone by ignoring or giving him her less importance

Etymology:

  • It is a very old European expression, which became popular during the era of castles and forts. Most of the castles took care of the travelers especially the knights. They gave them nice and hot meal. A common was not treated well, as he was given the shoulder piece of a lamb. It was cold and not well cooked. It meant that the traveler was not wanted and must leave as soon as possible. This practice gave birth to this expression, which is now being used in different manners.
350 Views

As Smith did not help Luke during his tough times, he gave him a cold shoulder at the family reunion.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Additional definitions for 'Cold Shoulder':

cold shoulderA deliberate act of disrespect; a slight or snub.
See them all »

Translation

Find a translation for the Cold Shoulder phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to Cold Shoulder

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this Cold Shoulder phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this Cold Shoulder definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Cold Shoulder." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/cold-shoulder_44576>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    You're as wise as an _____.
    A owl
    B unicorn
    C old man
    D ant