slap in the face

Idioms  

1. A sharp rebuke or rebuff, as in Being criticized in front of my staff was a real slap in the face, or We thought it quite a slap in the face when they returned our letter unopened. The figurative use of this term, which can also refer to a literal blow, dates from the late 1800s.

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Example Sentences

"It was a big slap in the face when the tariffs were announced," said Tomi Mäkelä, general manager of Thailand's Lanna Clothing, a garment exporter.

From BBC

“What happened to you was not miraculous,” he tells her, and the contention is to her tantamount to a slap in the face.

From The Wall Street Journal

"What a slap in the face. That's a slap in the face," she added.

From Barron's

From the Harbour View Hotel, in County Antrim, whose manager cast doubt on its ability to manage, to Canavan's bar and restaurant in County Tyrone, who described it as a slap in the face, the disappointment has been widespread.

From BBC

He said his father "finally agreed" to meet him but on the condition that Nicola was not present, which Brooklyn called a "slap in the face", adding that his family then refused to see him on a subsequent trip to Los Angeles.

From BBC

Related Words

• abuse
• affront
• blasphemy
• contempt
• disgrace
• disrespect
• indignity
• invective
• libel
• outrage
• put-down
• scorn
• shame
• slander
• slap
• slight
• snub
• taunt