To give someone the cold shoulder means deliberately ignoring a person or treating them in an unfriendly way.
The phrase appeared in English in the early 1800s. One explanation links it to the idea of offering a cold piece of meat instead of a warm meal to an unwelcome guest. It eventually came to mean quiet rejection.
The phrase appeared in English in the early 1800s. One explanation links it to the idea of offering a cold piece of meat instead of a warm meal to an unwelcome guest. It eventually came to mean quiet rejection.
After the argument, she gave him the cold shoulder all evening.