not touch with a barge pole

verb

To avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; (signifies a strong aversion).

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Meanings

verb

alternative not touch something with a ten-foot pole

  1. UKidiomaticTo avoid something at all costs; to refuse to associate with something; (signifies a strong aversion).

Origin

Probably derived from the barge poles that bargemen used to fend off wharfs and other boats.

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Cite this entry
APA

not touch with a barge pole. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20touch%20with%20a%20barge%20pole

MLA

“not touch with a barge pole.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20touch%20with%20a%20barge%20pole. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not touch with a barge pole,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20touch%20with%20a%20barge%20pole.

Source: not touch with a barge pole on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.