to get fresh with
4
8.9
- phrasal verb
- Offensive
- She thought I got fresh with her.
- trying to get fresh with
Examples
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Hedy told me you got fresh with her.
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Don't you get fresh with me.
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"You know you better not get fresh with that girl," she said firmly.
Fiction book (1993) -
Okay, but if this guy gets fresh with you... ...I'm gonna take a big bite out of his-
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Don't be getting fresh with my girl!
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- Don't get fresh with me, young man.
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You know, I ain't gonna let him get fresh with no lady like you, Lucy.
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You get fresh with me, son, I'll throw you overboard!
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DON'T GET FRESH WITH ME.
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Jimmy, are you trying to get fresh with me?
Synonyms
10
8.5
Behave in a rude, overly familiar way toward someone, often trying to flirt
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'get' = become, 'fresh' = forward/rude, and 'with' marks the target of that behavior, yielding 'become rude/overly familiar toward someone.' This is a productive English pattern (compare 'get smart with', 'get cute with') and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings should be able to infer it.
Etymology
The phrasal verb get fresh with comes from old slang where fresh meant bold or cheeky. Picture someone suddenly speaking or touching another person without respect — being 'fresh' — and that image explains why it now means 'to be disrespectful or too forward'.