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]

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Example Sentences

But one cabinet minister admits, "it is true young people get a raw deal – and youth unemployment is the number one issue, not just for that generation but for their parents and grandparents".

From BBC

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

Sharks have been getting a raw deal from humans for a long time.

From Salon

Logie, who left Division II Point Loma to become Montana State’s head man last season, inherited a raw deal with the Bobcats.

From Seattle Times

For The Times, Charles Arrowsmith wrote that the self-help book “is a raw deal, a hollow PR exercise filled with precepts and quips but devoid of self-awareness or humility.”

From Los Angeles Times