give someone the cold shoulder

Meaning: to deliberately treat someone with indifference or ignore them.

Example: “After I forgot her birthday, my sister gave me the cold shoulder for a week.”

Origin: The 'cold shoulder of mutton served to unwanted guests' tale is folk etymology, popularized by Sir Walter Scott; more likely a metaphor for physically turning one's shoulder away. Earliest citations don't support the food story.

Equivalents in other languages

French: Faire la soupe à la grimace Literally: To make grimace soup
Spanish: ley del hielo Literally: Law of ice
Dutch: met de nek aankijken Literally: To look at with the neck

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More English idioms

let the cat out of the bag to reveal a secret inadvertently.
pull your punches to hold back; to be less forceful than you could be.
spill the tea to reveal gossip or scandalous information.
go belly up to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
mad as a box of frogs completely crazy; chaotic and unpredictable.
bark up the wrong tree to pursue a wrong course; to blame the wrong person.

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Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.

Actual Actually means 'current' or 'present'. For actual (real), say real or verdadero.
Largo Actually means 'long'. For large, say grande.
Molestar Actually means 'to bother' or 'to annoy'. ¿Te molesta el ruido? = Does the noise bother y…

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Equivalents in other languages

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