dust off

1. Restore to use. For example, I've dusted off last year's menu for the party . This usage alludes to cleaning and thereby renewing some object. [Mid-1900s]

2. Pitch a baseball dangerously close to the batter's head, as in I'm sure he dusted him off on purpose . [ Slang ; 1920s]

3. Finish off, kill; also, easily defeat. For example, They vowed to dust off the old man , or We'll dust off this team in no time . [ Slang ; c. 1940]

4. Thrash, beat up, as in If he didn't hand over his wallet, they threatened to dust him off . [ Slang ; 1920s]

Example Sentences

Dust off your neon leg warmers and get ready for a blast from the past — Las Vegas is about to get a nostalgia overload.

Read more on Salon

Vermonters have launched fundraising campaigns for police to man road closures and officials to dust off old parking ordinances.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Studios can dust off a movie they already own and create hype through marketing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Never fear, Strictly Come Dancing is back with its 23rd series, with 15 new contestants ready to dust off their dancing shoes.

Read more on BBC

If you wipe the dust off and think back, you’ll probably remember them for hits like “Grindin’” or “When the Last Time,” both produced by the Neptunes — another duo, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo — and both off of their debut, “Lord Willin’.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assassinate 
• behead 
• butcher 
• decapitate 
• destroy 
• execute 
• exterminate 
• lynch 
• massacre 
• shoot 
• slaughter 
• slay 
• strangle