Chrysti The Wordsmith: Cold Shoulder

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Someone who refuses to welcome you with open arms but instead purposely displays his disdain is giving you the cold shoulder. How did this come to be the symbol of contempt and dismissal. The expression give the cold shoulder may have been coined in 1816 by Sir Walter Scott who wrote in a novel called The Antiquary of a disdainful countess who showed the cold shoulder in a later work. Scott had a character say I must tip him the cold shoulder or he will be pestering me eternally. A common explanation for the phrase invokes an alleged medieval custom of serving the unwanted visitor. A cold shoulder of beef or mutton rather than the more appetizing hot meal reserved for a welcome guest. But this expression was most likely inspired not by food but emphatic body language. We can sneer or gesture rudely to someone offensive to us and

we can also simply shrug and turn away giving. Or as Sir Walter Scott might say tipping a cold unwelcoming shoulder. Several writers have employed this phrase in their works. Charlotte and Emily Bronte Charles Dickens Louisa May Alcott and Mark Twain. From Montana State University in Bozeman and fam. I'm Christie the wordsmith. CHRISTIE The wordsmith the sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.