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

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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

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

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2024

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 ● Mar. 25, 2024

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 ● Oct. 25, 2023

It’s a raw deal we got, an’ ye can say that we’ll remember it.

From The Boss of Wind River by A. M. (Arthur Murray) Chisholm