take no for an answer, not

1. Not accept a refusal, be persistent in demanding something, as in I want you to show me the statements and I won't take no for an answer. This idiom was first recorded in 1930 in Winston Churchill's My Early Life: “Don't take no for an answer, never submit to failure.”

Example Sentences

“We just didn’t take no for an answer, not from suppliers, nor from investors,” said Afayez of the company’s nascent success.

From Forbes

"Well, you have simply got to have dinner with us to-morrow, Saturday, evening at the Country Club, and no doubt these girls will have you fox-trotting before the evening is over," and Mr. Tucker would not take "No" for an answer,—not that Father was very persistent in his refusal.

From Project Gutenberg

But I can't take "no" for an answer, not now.

From Project Gutenberg