Cold Shoulder
To give someone the cold shoulder is to show deliberate coldness, indifference, or rejection. The reviewed history reports Walter Scott’s 1816 “cauld shouther” wording, while the familiar cold-mutton explanation is explicitly unsupported folk etymology.
It means to deliberately treat someone in an unfriendly, dismissive, or indifferent way. Printed use is reported in Walter Scott’s The Antiquary (1816); the “cold shoulder of mutton for unwanted guests” story lacks supporting evidence in the reviewed history.
Key details
What the evidence supports
The expression is reported in Walter Scott’s The Antiquary in 1816.
Phrase Finder reports the “cauld shouther” wording in Scott’s 1816 novel.
The phrase originated from serving cold shoulder of mutton to an unwelcome guest.
The reviewed specialist history explicitly says there is no evidence supporting this popular explanation.
Documented timeline
- 1816
Scott wording reported
Phrase Finder reports “showing o’ the cauld shouther” in Walter Scott’s The Antiquary.
Variants
Current standard idiomatic form.
Meaning over time
Deliberate rejection or indifference
Treat someone in a deliberately unfriendly or dismissive way.
Further guidance
Chronology
Phrase Finder reports Scott’s 1816 “cauld shouther” wording and later reuse; this establishes reported chronology, not a proven act of coinage.
Contextual Examples
After the argument, he gave me the cold shoulder for the rest of the evening.
If you only know that someone did not respond, avoid asserting a deliberate “cold shoulder” unless the context supports intentional dismissal.
Meaning
Cambridge records the expression as deliberate unfriendly or ignoring behavior.
Meaning Boundary
Keep the meaning separate from unsupported folk-etymology stories; the reviewed historical material supports the documented early wording but not the familiar cold-mutton explanation.
Origin Myth Boundary
The cold-mutton story is popular but Phrase Finder says there is no evidence for it and treats it as folk etymology.
Practical Use
Use “give someone the cold shoulder” for deliberate unfriendly, dismissive, or indifferent treatment.
Tone Boundary
Informal and interpersonal; in formal reporting, describe the behavior directly if motive or intent cannot be established.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Cold shoulder — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge University Press · Current meaning
- Cold Shoulder — meaning and origin (opens in a new tab)The Phrase Finder · Reported chronology and folk-etymology audit