give the go-by

give the go-by

English

Verb

give the go-by (third-person singular simple present gives the go-by, present participle giving the go-by, simple past gave the go-by, past participle given the go-by)

1. (transitive, now rare) To leave behind, outdistance. [from 17th c.]
   • 2007, Sunday Mail, 5 August:

     Sliding Cube was taken on in front at Randwick and a couple of runners gave her the ‘go by’ when the field straightened.

2. (transitive) To avoid dealing with; to disregard, ignore. [from 17th c.]
   • 1844, John Wilson, Essay on the Genius, and Character of Burns:

     [T]hey express sweetly enough some natural sentiments,—and what more would you have in a song? You have had far more in some songs to which we have given the go-by […]

   • 1911, Max Beerbohm, Zuleika Dobson:

     To those other, those so august, accomplishments she no more pretended. She gave them the go-by.

3. (transitive) To snub (someone); to end a relationship. [from 19th c.]
   • 2012, Christina Brooke, Mad About the Earl:

     "If you mean to give him the go-by, you ought to do it cleanly […] and not string the fellow along."