not touch with a ten-foot pole

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Stay far away from, avoid completely, as in Ronald wouldn't touch raw oysters with a ten-foot pole. This expression dates from the mid-1700s, when it began to replace the earlier not to be handled with a pair of tongs. In the 1800s barge-pole was sometimes substituted for ten-foot pole, but that variant has died out.

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QUIZ YOURSELF ON "WAS" VS. "WERE"!

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Question 1 of 7

“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

true

false

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Words nearby not touch with a ten-foot pole

Nottingham, sheriff of, Nottinghamshire, Nottm, not to be sneezed at, not to mention, not touch with a ten-foot pole, Nottoway, not to worry, Notts, not turn a hair, notturno

How to use not touch with a ten-foot pole in a sentence

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Ten of the callers identified the man as Jason Polanco of the Bronx.
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Together, they crossed over the International Bridges on foot into Juarez to conduct some business.
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As played by Omundson, King Richard is effeminate, sincere, and ten times funnier than everyone else.
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In the classic skillset of piloting, mental acuity, and its coordination with hand and foot movements, is equally vital.
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In less than ten minutes, the bivouac was broken up, and our little army on the march.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
The bride elect rushes up to him, and so they both step down to the foot-lights.
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Ten minutes later, veiled and cloaked, she stepped out alone into the garden.
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Now-a-days it is the bankrupt who flouts, and his too confiding creditors who are jeered and laughed at.
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I find myself chained to the foot of a woman, my noble Cornelia would despise!
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