he shakes it off

[jacdac]

“I should have called you, Augie.”
Augie shakes it off.
“I wanted to. I really did. I was going to call, but …”
Source: Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben
Context: Police captain Augie is asking Tom about his missing son adult Hunk.

He shakes it off means he snaps his hand, suggestive of ‘it doesn’t matter’, right?

Thank you.

 

[pops91710]

No. It's not a hand gesture. And I do have to wonder why they used "shakes it off". To me it should have read, Shrugged it off which means to ignore or pay no attention to it which he seems to be doing. I think that's what he meant by shook it off. In AE to shake off something means to get rid of it like to shake off a cold. It is idiomatic but it doesn't fit in this context —in my opinion.

 

[jacdac]

Thank you. shrugged it off makes sense.