Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb idiomatic To
avoid something at all costs; torefuse toassociate with something; signifies a strongaversion . - verb idiomatic To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
This expression may have been derived by the 10-foot poles that river boatmen used to pole their boats with, along in shallow water, or from the barge poles that bargemen used to fend off wharfs and other boats.
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Examples
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