🗓️ Idiom: Brush Someone Off (v)
💬 Meaning
- To ignore someone or treat them as unimportant
- To refuse to listen or respond, especially in a rude or quick way
🧠 Example Sentences
- When the customer asked a question, the salesperson just brushed her off.
- He tried to explain the issue, but the support agent brushed him off.
- If you brush off clients, they may go to a competitor.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase comes from the physical action of brushing dust or dirt off your clothes. In this idiom, it means dismissing a person as if they were not worth your time or attention. It has been used this way since the mid-1900s.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Instead of helping, the receptionist just ____________________.
Answer
brushed me off
2. Choose the correct meaning of “brush someone off”:
A) To welcome someone warmly
B) To ignore or dismiss someone
C) To clean something quickly
Answer
B) To ignore or dismiss someone
3. Change the sentence using “brush someone off”:
“The manager didn’t take my complaint seriously at all.”
Answer
The manager brushed me off.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
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Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
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