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Showing results for slap in the face. Search instead for Slap+In+The+Face.
Synonyms

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.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

It turns your gift into a slap in the face with a wet fish.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 13, 2026

"It said I will still get a free pint on my birthday, but that's basically a slap in the face," she said.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Instead, they got a slap in the face.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 30, 2025

The decision was a "slap in the face to the people of Epping", said shadow interior minister Chris Philp.

From Barron's • Nov. 11, 2025

He took her decision to stay in the States as a slap in the face.

From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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