like jagweed
- idiom
- Offensive
- Don't treat me like jagweed!
Examples
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They dismissed my suggestions like jagweed, making me feel unwelcome.
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If you treat your teammates like jagweed, don't expect them to support you.
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She glared at him and spoke to him like jagweed all night.
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She spoke to him like jagweed during the meeting.
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If you treat your coworkers like jagweed, you won't build a good relationship.
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He spoke like jagweed to the newcomers, making them feel uncomfortable.
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Don't address me like jagweed if you want to have a productive conversation.
Synonyms
In a rude way that shows no respect
In a way that shows you have no respect for someone or something
In a way that shows you do not respect someone and say bad things about them
In a mocking way that shows dislike and makes someone feel small
In a mean way that tries to hurt someone
Antonyms
How Rude
Surface Forms
Morphology
like + jagweed
The insultal sense ('in a rude or dismissive manner') is not recoverable from the parts because 'jagweed' is not a recognized lexical item and provides no transparent semantic cue; 'like' as a comparator or colloquial marker does not make the intended disrespectful meaning predictable. This appears to be an idiomatic/slang usage dependent on cultural knowledge, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would still not infer the idiomatic meaning.
Etymology
Like jagweed may come from people comparing a person to a rough, unwanted plant called jagweed, something you pull up and throw away. That image of pulling something away and tossing it out shows a rude, dismissive way of acting, so the phrase means 'to treat someone badly or with no respect'.