not touch with a barge pole

English

Alternative forms

• not touch something with a ten foot pole

Etymology

Probably derived from the barge poles that bargemen used to fend off wharfs and other boats.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

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Verb

(deprecated template usage) not touch (something) with a barge pole

1. (idiomatic, UK) To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; (signifies a strong aversion).

Usage notes

This expression is almost exclusively used in the negative.

Translations

to avoid at all costs

• Danish: ikke røre med en ildtang
• German: mit der Kneifzange nicht anfassen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: обходи́ть за версту́ impf (obxodítʹ za verstú)
• Swedish: inte ta i med tång

See also

• not be caught dead
• over my dead body