shut out

shut out idiom
  1. Exclude, deny entry to, block, as in Anyone convicted of a crime is shut out from the legal profession, or These curtains shut out all the light. [Late 1300s]
  2. Prevent an opponent from scoring, as in They were shut out of the last two games, or Reagan shut out Ford in the Texas primary in 1976. Originating in baseball about 1880, this usage was later transferred to other sports and then even broader usage.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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