take a long walk on a short pier

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the fact that if one walks longer than the walkway, one will find oneself falling into the body of water.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (file)

Verb[edit]

take a long walk on a short pier (third-person singular simple present takes a long walk on a short pier, present participle taking a long walk on a short pier, simple past took a long walk on a short pier, past participle taken a long walk on a short pier)

  1. (idiomatic, derogatory, colloquial) Used to tell someone to go away, or that their request will not be met.
    • 1952, Hospitals: the journal of the American Hospital Association, volume 26, page 40:
      Well, it was a busy day and I was really cut down to size — in fact, once I was told to take a long walk on a short pier.
    • 2001, Tad Crawford, The Money Mentor: A Tale of Finding Financial Freedom, page 183:
      She smiled, but she wasn't the same Tina who had told her banker dad to take a long walk on a short pier.

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