at arm's length

Idioms  

1. At a distance, avoiding intimacy or familiarity, as in Bill hated seeing his colleagues outside the office, preferring to keep all of them at arm's length, or She was friendly only when he was safely at arm's length. Now often used with the verb keep, this term for distancing oneself from a person, organization, or issue originated as at arm's end but developed its current form by the mid-1600s.

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Example Sentences

Oil wealth and careful diplomacy kept turmoil at arm’s length.

From The Wall Street Journal

You can only keep people at arm’s length for so long.

From Literature

Was I keeping her at arm’s length by not telling her how much she meant to me?

From Literature

Jeremy held the saucer at arm's length.

From Literature

She held me at arm’s length, inventorying every little new freckle, every extra pound.

From Literature