raw

An unfair situation or poor treatment. Mandy really got a raw deal at that job. They passed her over for so many promotions!

Fig. naked; nude. (*Typically: be ~; get [into] ~; sleep ~.) The museum has a painting of some ladies in the buff. Mary felt a little shy about getting into the altogether. Bill says he sleeps in the raw.

an instance of unfair or bad treatment. (*Typically: get ~; have ~; give someone ~.) Mary got a raw deal on her traffic ticket. She was innocent, but she had to pay a big fine. I bought a used TV that worked for two days and then quit. I sure got a raw deal. You sure had a raw deal.

a new, inexperienced, or fresh recruit, such as someone just entering the army, navy, police, etc. These boys are nothing but raw recruits. They've never seen a gun up close!

to cause an emotional reaction This film touched a nerve with many people who were already feeling very uneasy about the state of the world. Any talk of raising the cost of college tuition hits a raw nerve with students.

unfair treatment If you feel you've had a raw deal, you can always sue me.

as it actually is Politics in the raw is all about power and deal-making.

naked He was just standing there in the altogether.

life at its most difficult, without money or the comforts that money brings Travelling on the cheap exposes you to local life in the raw.

to pretend that you have no knowledge of what someone is talking about (usually + with ) Oh, don't come the raw prawn with me, Scott, I saw you writing down her telephone number as I walked into the room!

to not be treated as well as other people The fact is that kids who are taught in classes of over thirty get a raw deal.

naked She often swims in the raw.

Also, in or stripped to the buff ; in the raw. Naked, nude, as in The art class wanted a model to pose in the altogether, or She was stripped to the buff when the doorbell rang, or He always sleeps in the raw. The first of these colloquial terms dates from the late 1800s. In the buff, a seemingly modern locution dates from the 1600s, buff alluding to a soft, undyed leather, buffskin, that also gave its name to the color. The use of raw, presumably also alluding to raw (undressed) leather, dates from the early 1900s.

An instance of unfair or harsh treatment, as in After 25 years with the bank Bob got a raw deal-no pension, no retirement benefits of any kind, just a gold watch. Raw here means "crude" or "unfair." [First half of 1900s]

An instance of unfair treatment: got a raw deal from our insurance company.