raw deal

Idioms  

1. An instance of unfair or harsh treatment, as in After 25 years with the bank Bob got a raw deal—no pension, no retirement benefits of any kind, just a gold watch. Raw here means “crude” or “unfair.” [First half of 1900s]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

raw deal

Also in Weekend Reads: The latest on SpaceX and other IPOs, a raw deal for Alphabet’s non-Berkshire shareholders and advice from the Moneyist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

A youth charity boss suggests: "It's like a guilty secret, the country knows that young people are getting a raw deal but nobody is doing anything about it."

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025

By anyone’s standards, Lohan took the raw deal she was given as a child star whose popularity exploded in the brutal celebrity culture of the early aughts and transformed it into an impressive second act.

From Salon ● Dec. 3, 2024

Permit me to save you the trouble of finding out for yourself: “Be Useful” is a raw deal, a hollow PR exercise filled with precepts and quips but devoid of self-awareness or humility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2023

This crowd is not going to stand by and see a raw deal like this pulled off.”

From Rim o' the World by Fischer, Anton Otto