on the outs

English

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

on the outs

1. (chiefly US, idiomatic) On unfriendly terms; estranged.
   • 1961, Joan Didion, “On Self-Respect”, in Slouching Towards Bethlehem:

     I marvel that a mind on the outs with itself should have nevertheless made a painstaking record of its every tremor.

   • 1964, John Anton Dahl, Student, School, and Society: Crosscurrents in Secondary Education, page 83:

     A second ill of this day lies in the trend of getting more and more on the outs with those who have been more successful than we.

   • 1977-1980, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure

     He's staying at my place because he & Bridg are on the outs.

   • 1998, Henry J. Frundt, Trade Conditions and Labor Rights: U.S. Initiatives, Dominican and Central ..., page 68:

     "The first country, Nicaragua, was a give-away," noted one State Department observer, referring to the GSP review of the country most on the outs with the administration.

   • 2003, John Wingspread Howell, Naked in Church, page 409:

     The fact that he and her sister seemed to be more on the outs than ever may have been half her motivation in leaving the door open a crack.

Synonyms

• at odds

See also

• on the outside, looking in

Further reading

• "on the outs" in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, © 2006-2007 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated.