runaround

American  

[ruhn-uh-round] / ˈrʌn əˌraʊnd /

noun

1. indecisive or evasive treatment, especially in response to a request.

   Ask for a raise and he'll give you the runaround.

   Synonyms:

   slip, evasion, dodge

2. Printing. an arrangement of type in which several lines are set in narrower measure than the others in a column to accommodate an illustration, initial, or the like.

---

runaround Idioms  

1. see get the runaround.

---

Etymology

Origin of runaround

1870–75, noun use of verb phrase run around

Example Sentences

But despite loving the petite coupe, she wouldn't recommend it as a daily runaround.

From BBC

Emails to Saks asking about owed payments often went unanswered or were met with a runaround, said Emiliano Shnitzer-Bartocci, vice president of CTE Watch Co., which distributes Timex watches and Ray-Ban sunglasses among other accessories.

From The Wall Street Journal

At Fir Park, Celtic were given the runaround by Jens Berthel Askou's team in a deserved 2-0 win.

From BBC

She says every effort thereafter to straighten things out met the runaround.

From The Wall Street Journal

The agencies, he said, gave him the runaround and he couldn’t get anyone to answer his calls — which he said was perplexing, considering the rapid response when he alerted them to infected cattle.

From Los Angeles Times