blow off

[ostap77]

"I wanted something different for a change. So I blew off KFC and went to a sushibar."

Is it OK to use "blow off" to mean that you didn't do something you were going to do?


OR

"If I hadn't blown off Physics this semester, I would have done well on the exam."


OR

"I wanted to kick in for the party but they blew me off."
Can I use it to say that I treated something as unimportant?

 

[mykwyner]

Yes, when you blow [something] off you treat it as unimportant, you fail to meet an obligation because you just don't care, or you dismiss something out of hand.

 

[Barb_D]

I can't find the KFC example natural.

You can blow off people or a class, or people can blow you off, but unless you have some sort of standing date or expectation to be KFC, you can't really blow off a restaurant.

 

[bhaisahab]

I can't find the KFC example natural.

You can blow off people or a class, or people can blow you off, but unless you have some sort of standing date or expectation to be KFC, you can't really blow off a restaurant.

I find this "blow off" expression fascinating, I'm not at all familiar with it. It's like a foreign language to me.:-?

 

[ostap77]

I can't find the KFC example natural.

You can blow off people or a class, or people can blow you off, but unless you have some sort of standing date or expectation to be KFC, you can't really blow off a restaurant.

How about this.

1)I thought I was going to have a meal at a KFC restaurant after work that is just around the corner. But than I decided to change my mind and went to a sushibar.

2) Or in the morning I hought I was going to go the movies with my girlfriend but then she changed her ming and felt more like going to the disco. "We blew off the movies and went there"?

3) I was looking forward to going the New Year party. But at the very last moment airplain tickets worked out at a realy good price. So we blew the party off and went to Mexico.?

 

[5jj]

2) Or in the morning I hought I was going to go the movies with my girlfriend but then she changed her ming and felt more like going to the disco. "We blew off the movies and went there"?

The mind boggles.

 

[Barb_D]

That's a little closer.

We were going to go dinner, swing by a friend's open house for a bit and then see the late movie. Dinner ran long, though, and we really wanted to see the movie, so we decided to blow off the party.

 

[Tdol]

I find this "blow off" expression fascinating, I'm not at all familiar with it. It's like a foreign language to me.:-?

I didn't know it until an AmE speaker sent me the definition to add to our list. ;-)

 

[ostap77]

That's a little closer.

We were going to go dinner, swing by a friend's open house for a bit and then see the late movie. Dinner ran long, though, and we really wanted to see the movie, so we decided to blow off the party.

So we can "blow off" things that are connected with a pre-planed action.

I can blow off a meal at a restaurant but not the restaurant itself?

"He took a quick look at the book I gave him and blew it off." Can I say in this way that it seemed not interesting and treated it as unimportant?

 

[Vidor]

not a teacher

So we can "blow off" things that are connected with a pre-planed action.

I can blow off a meal at a restaurant but not the restaurant itself?

"He took a quick look at the book I gave him and blew it off." Can I say in this way that it seemed not interesting and treated it as unimportant?

I would not use "blow off" in the sense you use it with a book. "Blow off" means to ignore an obligation, or a meeting, or a task. "I was hung over this morning so I blew off English class and slept in." You don't blow off a physical object such as a book that's presented to you. In the sentence above I'd say "He took a quick look at the book I gave him, and dismissed it."

 

[hotmetal]

I didn't know it until an AmE speaker sent me the definition to add to our list. ;-)

Me neither, at least, not in this context.
I think it should be pointed out that in British English, "blow off" means something rather different! i.e. it is either a childish phrase meaning "to break wind", or an "adult" phrase denoting a sexual act…

Please be careful with our language out there folks!! :-?