sent from pillar to post
- idiom
- Informal
:
ir de un lado a otro
- I feel like I've been sent from pillar to post trying to get my refund!
Examples
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After calling customer service, I was sent from pillar to post without any answers.
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Jane felt exhausted after being sent from pillar to post by government agencies.
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After the accident, he was sent from pillar to post in search of insurance information.
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The refugees were sent from pillar to post before finally finding a place to stay.
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After the accident, he was sent from pillar to post in search of insurance information.
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Jane felt exhausted after being sent from pillar to post by government agencies.
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After calling customer service, I was sent from pillar to post without any answers.
Synonyms
45
6.6
Fail to give someone help or information when they need it
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
send + from + pillar + to + post
Although the phrase contains transparent motion elements ('sent', 'from', 'to'), the specific sense of being passed around repeatedly without getting help is an idiomatic extension that cannot be predicted from 'pillar' and 'post'. A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings of the words would likely infer movement but not the pragmatic nuance of fruitless, repeated referral, so the expression is not compositional.
Etymology
Sent from pillar to post may come from the image of someone being moved over and over between two fixed places, like walking from one pillar to another post without stopping. So it now means being sent around between people or offices and getting 'no help' or 'no solution'.