shuffle off

British  

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to thrust off or put aside

   shuffle off responsibility

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shuffle off Idioms  

1. Get rid of, act evasively, as in They've tried to shuffle off public inquiries about the safety of their planes . This usage, dating from about 1600, also appears in the oft-quoted shuffle off this mortal coil , from Shakespeare's Hamlet (3:1), where it means “become freed from the turmoil of life,” that is, “die.”

2. Move away reluctantly, dragging one's feet, as in The prisoners shuffled off to their work detail . [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

Do not be fooled by suggestions Australia have unveiled a list of geriatrics, ready to shuffle off to a cricketing retirement home, tending the garden in their baggy green caps.

From BBC

For months now, withdrawing money has become almost a second job, with employees forced to take off from work to queue before banks, even as the lack of liquidity is strangling a ravaged economy struggling to shuffle off nearly 14 years of civil war.

From Los Angeles Times

There are those who believe the world will end with trumpets signaling major cataclysms, but in both “The End” and “The Performance,” characters instead shuffle off to Buffalo and tap their little hearts out as the world crumbles around them.

From Los Angeles Times

One has chosen to shuffle off this mortal coil.

From Los Angeles Times

“Barbie” was the year’s greatest Trojan horse, a pop art tale of empowerment that wants us to think about what it means to shuffle off this mortal coil.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• avert
• bypass
• dodge
• escape
• evade
• fend off
• shun
• sidestep