raw deal

Idioms & Phrases

raw deal

An instance of unfair or harsh treatment, as in After 25 years with the bank Bob got a raw dealno pension, no retirement benefits of any kind, just a gold watch. Raw here means "crude" or "unfair." [First half of 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source

WordNet

raw deal
noun
unfair treatment

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Cite This Source

00:10

Raw deal is always a great word to know.

So is zedonk. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Matching Quote

"... [Washington] is always an entertaining spectacle. Look at it now. The present President has the name of Roosevelt, marked facial resemblance to Wilson, and no perceptible aversion, to say the least, to many of the policies of Bryan. The New Deal, which at times seems more like a pack of cards thrown helter skelter, some face up, some face down, and then snatched in a free-for-all by the players, than it does like a regular deal, is going on before our interested, if puzzled eyes."

-Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Want raw deal ad-free? Click here!