Brush–off


a refusal to talk or listen to someone; abrupt or final dismissal or rebuff.
an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc.
one of a pair of devices consisting of long, thin handles with wire bristles attached, used in jazz or dance bands for keeping a soft, rhythmic beat on the trap drums or the cymbals.
the bushy tail of an animal, especially of a fox.
Electricity.

a conductor, often made of carbon or copper or a combination of the two, serving to maintain electric contact between stationary and moving parts of a machine, generator, or other apparatus.
brush discharge.

a feathery or hairy tuft or tassel, as on the tip of a kernel of grain or on a man’s hat.
an act or instance of brushing; application of a brush.
a light, stroking touch.
a brief encounter:
He has already had one brush with the law.
a close approach, especially to something undesirable or harmful:
a brush with disaster.
to sweep, paint, clean, polish, etc., with a brush.
to touch lightly in passing; pass lightly over:
His lips brushed her ear.
to remove by brushing or by lightly passing over:
His hand brushed a speck of lint from his coat.
to move or skim with a slight contact.
brush aside, to disregard; ignore:
Our complaints were simply brushed aside.
brush off, to rebuff; send away:
She had never been brushed off so rudely before.
brush up on, to revive, review, or resume (studies, a skill, etc.):
She’s thinking of brushing up on her tennis.
Also, brush up.
get the brush, to be rejected or rebuffed:
She greeted Jim effusively, but I got the brush.
give the brush, to ignore, rebuff, etc.:
If you’re still angry with him, give him the brush.
verb (transitive, adverb)
to dismiss and ignore (a person), esp curtly
noun
an abrupt dismissal or rejection
noun
a device made of bristles, hairs, wires, etc, set into a firm back or handle: used to apply paint, clean or polish surfaces, groom the hair, etc
the act or an instance of brushing
a light stroke made in passing; graze
a brief encounter or contact, esp an unfriendly one; skirmish
the bushy tail of a fox, often kept as a trophy after a hunt, or of certain breeds of dog
an electric conductor, esp one made of carbon, that conveys current between stationary and rotating parts of a generator, motor, etc
a dark brush-shaped region observed when a biaxial crystal is viewed through a microscope, caused by interference between beams of polarized light
verb
(transitive) to clean, polish, scrub, paint, etc, with a brush
(transitive) to apply or remove with a brush or brushing movement: brush the crumbs off the table
(transitive) to touch lightly and briefly
(intransitive) to move so as to graze or touch something lightly
noun
a thick growth of shrubs and small trees; scrub
land covered with scrub
broken or cut branches or twigs; brushwood
wooded sparsely populated country; backwoods
n.
v.

A mustache (1820s+)
A fight; squabble; disagreement: have had drug or alcohol problems, and have experienced a ”brush with the law” (1840s+)

Dismiss or rebuff, as in Roberta brushed off the poor reviews with a shrug , or You can’t brush off a boyfriend and expect him to do you a favor . This expression, transferring sweeping off crumbs to a curt dismissal, was first recorded about 1820. However, it became common usage only in the 1930s. Also see give someone the air (brush off)

brush aside
brush off
brush up

Read Also:

  • Brush--on

    fit to be applied with a brush: a brush-on paint remover. a substance that can be applied with a brush: The varnish dries more quickly than most brush-ons. an implement consisting of bristles, hair, or the like, set in or attached to a handle, used for painting, cleaning, polishing, grooming, etc. one of a pair […]

  • Brushpopper

    a cowboy, especially one who works in the brush.

  • Brush-someone-back

    brush someone back

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    brush someone off

  • Brush-turkey

    megapode. Historical Examples Chambers’s Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) Various Lippincott’s Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 26, July 1880. Various Curiosities of Civilization Andrew Wynter noun any of several gallinaceous birds, esp Alectura lathami, of New Guinea and Australia, having a black plumage: family Megapodidae (megapodes)


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