What it means
A firm little brush-off that means go away, stop bothering me, or don’t be so cheeky. Usually said when someone’s chatting rubbish or pushing their luck, and it can be half-jokey if you chuck in a grin. The phrase got a big boost in the 1980s after Norman Tebbit used it, but it’s long been knocking about in everyday talk.
Usage examples
"Kev rocks up begging for a lift and a tenner. I’m outside Greggs in the drizzle, like, on your bike, mate, behave."
"You want to borrow money again? On your bike!"
"When he started making excuses, she just told him to get on his bike."
"He asked if I’d cover his shift for the third weekend running and I just went, on your bike, pal."
"You ate my chips, nicked my charger, then wanted a favour? On your bike."
Where it comes from
A proper British send-off that was already knocking about before politics got its hands on it. It got a big public jolt in the early 1980s after Norman Tebbit's bike remarks about jobseekers, but people were already using it as a sharp little way of saying clear off or don't push it.
Other ways to say it
This expression also appears in
