Meaning & use
barge pole
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A long pole used to push a barge or small boat along or away from the bank.
Grammar: A normal countable noun: a barge pole.
He pushed off from the bank with a long barge pole.
The boatman leaned on his barge pole to steer around the bend.
An old barge pole lay along the side of the canal boat.
phraseidiominformalBritish
Used in the idiom 'not touch something with a barge pole' to say you want nothing to do with it.
Grammar: Almost always in the negative: I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.
Patterns
- wouldn't touch something with a barge pole
I wouldn't touch that investment with a barge pole.
She said she would not go near that restaurant with a barge pole.
He wouldn't touch the job with a barge pole after hearing about the boss.
Word forms
| plural | barge poles |
|---|
Common combinations
- wouldn't touch with a barge pole
- I wouldn't touch that used car with a barge pole.
- long barge pole
- He steered with a long barge pole.
- push with a barge pole
- They pushed off with a barge pole.
- avoid with a barge pole
- Most sensible buyers avoid that property with a barge pole.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ten-foot pole
- Ten-foot pole is the American form of the same idiom, so it fits when you want an American sound.
- steer clear of
- Steer clear of is a plain phrasal verb with no humor or exaggeration, unlike the barge pole idiom.
- give a wide berth
- Give a wide berth also means to avoid, but it is more neutral and used for people or places.
Word family
Commonly confused: barge pole or ten-foot pole?
barge pole vs ten-foot pole
The American version uses a ten-foot pole instead of a barge pole, with exactly the same meaning.
Practice
If you say you wouldn't touch a deal with a barge pole, you mean...
Choose one answer.
The idiom shows strong avoidance. Pushing away gently takes the pole literally and misses the figurative meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “barge pole”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.