Weasel Out

Welcome to English in a Minute.

This is a weasel.

These wild animals are small and tricky:

Wow Anna, looks like you could use some help. Let me carry that.

Thanks, Jonathon. I can always count on you. Jessica, not so much.

She weaseled out of helping you again, didn’t she?

Yeah, she did. She’s a weasel.

To “ weasel out” of something means to successfully avoid doing something in a dishonest or clever way.

This phrasal verb has a mostly negative meaning.

You can also call someone a “ weasel”, like Anna did.

Some animals just have a bad reputation.

And that’s English in a Minute.