cut no ice

Idioms

Have no effect, make no impression, as in That excuse cuts no ice with me. This term predates modern refrigeration, when ice was obtained by cutting it from a large block with a sharp tool. [Late 1800s]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The former Liverpool defender is slowly settling into life at the Bernabeu, but this has cut no ice with Tuchel.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

This argument cut no ice with my parents.

From Washington Post • Dec. 12, 2021

It shows that people really connect with the story, they really think hard about it, but it cut no ice with Dad.

From The Guardian • Dec. 10, 2018

This cut no ice with the Supreme Court.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 2, 2015

Linda, on the contrary, cut no ice; nobody had the smallest desire to see Linda.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023