nothing doing


Certainly not, as in Can I borrow your down coat?—Nothing doing. This colloquial interjection was first recorded in 1910. Also see, no dice.

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

How to use nothing doing in a sentence

  • He wanted to sell outright to me, but his price was prohibitive and he wouldn't ease up on it a bit, so there was nothing doing.

    In the Onyx Lobby | Carolyn Wells
  • There's nothing doing in making Bob drunk again, but you had better understand what's going to happen if you try.

    The Girl From Keller's | Harold Bindloss
  • The crop is spoiled, we have no grain to haul in, and there'll be nothing doing here while the snow is on the ground.

    The Girl From Keller's | Harold Bindloss
  • Wyatt was right when he said "there was nothing doing" socially.

  • Recall de Sagosta without fail or there will be nothing doing on pay day.