shuffle off
Britishverb
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Get rid of, act evasively, as in They've tried to shuffle off public inquiries about the safety of their planes . This usage, dating from about 1600, also appears in the oft-quoted shuffle off this mortal coil , from Shakespeare's Hamlet (3:1), where it means “become freed from the turmoil of life,” that is, “die.”
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Move away reluctantly, dragging one's feet, as in The prisoners shuffled off to their work detail . [Late 1500s]
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.
"Maybe, by the time I shuffle off this mortal coil, there might be a little more awareness… of the need to bring things back together again," he says.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
Lawrence: Having been there, I was always blown away, when somebody announces their retirement, you expect them to shuffle off into the ether.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2026
What is it that we will remember from our lives before we all shuffle off this mortal coil?
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
While some shrews shuffle off this mortal coil in less than 14 months, bowhead whales can swim in Arctic waters for more than two centuries.
From Scientific American ● Jan. 31, 2023
I shuffle off to our room but am still with her through my ears.
From "Inside Out and Back Again" by Thanhha Lai
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
