See not touch with a ten-foot pole on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "Disputed.",
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},
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{
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{
"text": "1873. Ambrose Bierce (under the pseudonym Dod Grile), The Fiend's Delight\nIn conclusion, his respect for letter-writing ladies is so great that he would not touch one of them with a ten-foot pole."
},
{
"ref": "1912, Ambrose Bierce, “A Providential Intimation”, in The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, volume 8:",
"text": "... the stock's gone up from nothin' out o' sight. You couldn't tech that stock with a ten-foot pole!",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1999. David Morefield, The Guardian: I spy, the new 007",
"text": "Serious actors of the world wouldn't touch the part with a ten-foot pole."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion."
],
"id": "en-not_touch_with_a_ten-foot_pole-en-verb-XuCK4hcY",
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"avoid"
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[
"refuse",
"refuse"
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],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "唯恐避之不及"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "ikke røre med en ildtang"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "olla koskematta pitkällä tikullakaan"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "éviter à tout prix"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "mit der Kneifzange nicht anfassen"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "bottal sem piszkálná meg"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "essere come il diavolo e l'acqua santa"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "unikać za wszelką cenę"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "obxodítʹ za verstú",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "обходи́ть за версту́"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "no tocar ni con un palo"
},
{
"_dis1": "99 1",
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "inte ta i med tång"
}
]
},
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{
"_dis": "43 57",
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{
"_dis": "29 71",
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{
"_dis": "35 65",
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{
"_dis": "19 81",
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{
"_dis": "29 71",
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{
"_dis": "29 71",
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},
{
"_dis": "29 71",
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{
"_dis": "23 77",
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{
"_dis": "28 72",
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{
"_dis": "26 74",
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},
{
"_dis": "32 68",
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{
"_dis": "28 72",
"kind": "other",
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{
"_dis": "24 76",
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"_dis": "29 71",
"kind": "other",
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"parents": [],
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{
"_dis": "38 62",
"kind": "topical",
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"name": "Ten",
"orig": "en:Ten",
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{
"ref": "Francis Lynde, The Quickening",
"text": "On the contrary, my dear Mr. Gordon, it is because I do know him, or know of him, that I am turning him over to you. You are the one person in the world to obtain that coal lease. I confess I couldn't touch the Major with a ten-foot pole, any more than you could go North and get the cash. But you are his neighbor, and he likes you. What you recommend, he'll do."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone."
],
"id": "en-not_touch_with_a_ten-foot_pole-en-verb-eNcq~CWA",
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone."
],
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "22 78",
"word": "can't stand the sight of"
},
{
"_dis1": "22 78",
"word": "not be caught dead"
},
{
"_dis1": "22 78",
"word": "over my dead body"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "22 78",
"tags": [
"British"
],
"word": "not touch something with a barge pole"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
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"audio": "En-au-not touch something with a ten foot pole.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a5/En-au-not_touch_something_with_a_ten_foot_pole.ogg/En-au-not_touch_something_with_a_ten_foot_pole.ogg.mp3",
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"word": "not touch with a ten-foot pole"
}
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"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
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"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Swedish translations",
"en:Ten"
],
"etymology_text": "Disputed.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "phrase",
"head": "not touch (something) with a ten-foot pole"
},
"expansion": "not touch (something) with a ten-foot pole",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "can't stand the sight of"
},
{
"word": "not be caught dead"
},
{
"word": "over my dead body"
}
],
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{
"categories": [
"English idioms",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "1873. Ambrose Bierce (under the pseudonym Dod Grile), The Fiend's Delight\nIn conclusion, his respect for letter-writing ladies is so great that he would not touch one of them with a ten-foot pole."
},
{
"ref": "1912, Ambrose Bierce, “A Providential Intimation”, in The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, volume 8:",
"text": "... the stock's gone up from nothin' out o' sight. You couldn't tech that stock with a ten-foot pole!",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1999. David Morefield, The Guardian: I spy, the new 007",
"text": "Serious actors of the world wouldn't touch the part with a ten-foot pole."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion."
],
"links": [
[
"avoid",
"avoid"
],
[
"refuse",
"refuse"
],
[
"associate",
"associate"
],
[
"aversion",
"aversion"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; signifies a strong aversion."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English idioms"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "Francis Lynde, The Quickening",
"text": "On the contrary, my dear Mr. Gordon, it is because I do know him, or know of him, that I am turning him over to you. You are the one person in the world to obtain that coal lease. I confess I couldn't touch the Major with a ten-foot pole, any more than you could go North and get the cash. But you are his neighbor, and he likes you. What you recommend, he'll do."
}
],
"glosses": [
"To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone."
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To be unable (perhaps figuratively) to approach something or someone."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
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"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/a/a5/En-au-not_touch_something_with_a_ten_foot_pole.ogg/En-au-not_touch_something_with_a_ten_foot_pole.ogg.mp3",
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"tags": [
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],
"word": "not touch something with a barge pole"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "唯恐避之不及"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "ikke røre med en ildtang"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "olla koskematta pitkällä tikullakaan"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "éviter à tout prix"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "mit der Kneifzange nicht anfassen"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "bottal sem piszkálná meg"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"word": "essere come il diavolo e l'acqua santa"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "unikać za wszelką cenę"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "obxodítʹ za verstú",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "обходи́ть за версту́"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "no tocar ni con un palo"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "to avoid at all costs",
"word": "inte ta i med tång"
}
],
"word": "not touch with a ten-foot pole"
}
Download raw JSONL data for not touch with a ten-foot pole meaning in All languages combined (4.5kB)
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
"msg": "unrecognized head form: something",
"path": [
"not touch with a ten-foot pole"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "verb",
"title": "not touch with a ten-foot pole",
"trace": ""
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.