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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 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 • Feb. 25, 2026

“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 • Feb. 19, 2026

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

From Barron's • Feb. 10, 2026

For Shin, this was a slap in the face.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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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