Fob someone off means get rid of someone with an excuse or an empty promise: the receptionist fobbed us off with a vague promise to call back. It's what the person who got brushed off says, and it sounds annoyed. Fob something off on someone means get them to take something bad or useless. It's more common in British English.
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fob someone off with an excuse; fob something off on someone
- The receptionist fobbed us off with a vague promise to call back.
- Don't let them fob you off with another unexplained delay.
- He tried to fob the damaged chair off on a customer.
What changed
First versionThey fobbed off me with the same excuse.
RevisionThey fobbed me off with the same excuse.
Most verbs take the object right after them, so fobbed off me looks logical. But a pronoun goes between the parts: fobbed me off. The excuse is introduced by with: fobbed me off with the same excuse.
Turn down means refuse directly: they turned down my request. Fob off means avoid answering instead of refusing: they fobbed me off with a vague promise. Put off means delay or discourage, while fob off is specifically about brushing someone off.
Your turn
Choose the correct pronoun position: I asked for a clear answer, but they ___.
Show the answer
fobbed me off — The pronoun me goes between fobbed and off: fobbed me off. Fobbed off me sounds wrong.
Describe a time you were fobbed off with an excuse in a shop, bank or customer service chat.
I asked when the repairs would finish, but they fobbed me off with another vague estimate.
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