What Does It Mean? To give someone the cold shoulder is to snub or act indifferently towards them, usually in an intentionally hurtful way. Where Does It Come From? The phrase has nothing to do with actual human shoulders, or indeed giving them to someone (cold or not, that would be a little bit weird. Plus giving someone a part of your body is surely more likely to be some grand gesture of very unhealthy affection rather than passive aggressive miffedness). Though widely considered to be folk etymology, the most commonly held belief for this phrase was that it probably originated in the 19th century and refers to the common practice of offering an unwanted guest 'a cold shoulder of mutton,' as a subtle means of showing him or her that they were unwelcome. Ouch.
Stephanie is a writer and free spirit who likes to pretend she's a Londoner, though strictly speaking she's from Watford. She likes books, music, elephants, and hairspray.
