(I'm) (a)fraid not
A response used to reluctantly decline an invitation or politely answer a question in the negative, indicating regret that the answer is "no." When the phrase is abbreviated to "fraid not," an apostrophe is often used in place of the missing letter. A: "Will you be able to attend the meeting tomorrow?" B: "I'm afraid not. I'm going to be out of town." A: "Could you loan me a hundred bucks?" B: "’Fraid not. I'm broke." Can I babysit your kids? Ooh, afraid not, I'm actually all booked up today.
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(I'm) afraid not.
and 'Fraid not.I believe, regrettably, that the answer is no. (The apostrophe is not always shown.) Rachel: Can I expect any help with this problem? Henry: I'm afraid not. Andrew: Will you be there when I get there? Bill: Afraid not.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.