nothing doing
Absolutely not; definitely no.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I asked to borrow his car, but he said nothing doing.”
“I tried to convince my boss to give me the day off, but it was nothing doing.”
“Despite her persistent pleas for a higher salary, the manager remained firm and told her nothing doing.”
- 01
come to nothing
To fail completely; to have no result.
- 02
dance on nothing
To be hanged.
- 03
here goes nothing
Indicates a lack of confidence or certainty about the activity about to be tried.
- 04
hiding to nothing
A situation in which victory has little or no value, but defeat has a huge cost.
- 05
if nothing else
At the very least; as a minimum.
- 06
much ado about nothing
A lot of fuss or bother about something trivial.
- 07
nothing for it
No alternative; nothing else to be done or to have recourse to.
- 08
nothing if not
Certainly; definitely; (sometimes also obliquely) thoroughly; wholly; to a high degree; extremely.
Last updated August 10, 2026