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shuffle off
verb
(tr, adverb) to thrust off or put aside
shuffle off responsibility
Idioms and Phrases
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.”
Move away reluctantly, dragging one's feet, as in The prisoners shuffled off to their work detail . [Late 1500s]
Example Sentences
A man apparently so besotted with his faith, he managed to grab a few awkward minutes with Pope Francis before the poor guy could shuffle off the mortal coil.
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.
One has chosen to shuffle off this mortal coil.
“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.
Your anger rises watching guards harass chained Black inmates as they shuffle off a bus, bark insults at them, herd them into a cramped room and order them to strip and expose themselves.
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