give somebody the runaround

give Verb

— If you give something to someone else, you had the thing and you let the other person have it. Maybe you use your hands to put the thing in the other person's hands. Usually after that, the thing is the other person's thing. Give me that book, please; I want to read it. My mother gave me this stone when I was young — If you give a speech, you talk to a group of people.

somebody Determiner

— Somebody is a person, but you don't know which person you mean. I think I saw somebody outside. Somebody keeps leaving the lights on.

somebody Noun

— A somebody is a person who is famous or important.

the Determiner

— Used, instead of a, to reference something specific, already known to exist. Compare "I read a book." and "I read the book." — Used with a stress, to show that the word following is special. Are you the John Smith that I went to school with? — Used with an adjective that acts like a noun to mean all of the people concerned The poor are always with us. — Used with superlatives forms of adjectives and adverbs. You are the best.

runaround noun

— An evasive explanation in the form of multiple excuses. — A detour or route that bypasses an obstacle. — (printing) A section of type that is narrower than that of the column it is part of; typically next to an illustration. — evasive explanation