TO GIVE SOMEBODY THE BRUSH-OFF

[beachboy]

A - If you ever need my help, you can count on me.
B - Do you really think I will EVER need YOUR help? Give me a break...

C- Would you mind if I used the computer for a second?
D - Can't you see I'm using it, and I'm concentrated on this stuff?

Are these good examples of giving somebody the brush-off? If not, could anybody come up with more common examples?

 

[emsr2d2]

To me, that doesn't really bring out the meaning of giving someone the brush-off. It's more like simply giving someone either a very brief answer or the answer they want to hear (even if it's not true) in order to get them to go away and stop annoying you.

- Can we meet for coffee?
- Yeah, sometime.
- How about tomorrow?
- Not sure, don't know what I'm doing tomorrow.
- Well, how about Wednesday?
- Yeah, fine, whatever, Wednesday. (and then walk away from the conversation)

The person who started the conversation no doubt thinks that there is a firm agreement in place to meet for coffee on Wednesday but the other person basically just eventually said yes to get out of the conversation. He gave the other person the brush-off.

It can be even more clear than that.

- Hi, you're gorgeous. Would you like to go on a date?
- Er, no. Goodbye.

 

[beachboy]

Would there be an idiom that suits the examples I gave? I mean, if B and D were to complain to somebody else that they received a rude answer, what would they say?

 

[emsr2d2]

Would there be an idiom that suits the examples I gave? I mean, if B and D were to complain to somebody else that they received a rude answer, what would they say?

I would just say that the response B was fairly sarcastic and response D was just rather rude and abrupt.

By the way, I missed this the first time round, but in response D, you should have used "concentrating", not "concentrated".