make no bones about
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
In reference to ‘finding bones’ in a matter, itself a reference to finding bones in soup.[1]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
make no bones about (third-person singular simple present makes no bones about, present participle making no bones about, simple past and past participle made no bones about)
- (idiomatic) To say, do, or indicate something clearly and without hesitation, even if it may be unpleasant. [15c.]
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 10, in Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- The squire made no bones about the matter; he despised the captain.
- 1900, Andrew Lang, “The Ogre,”, in The Grey Fairy Book:
- [M]aking no bones about the matter, he told Antonio what a fool he had been.
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, chapter XII, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
- I was prepared to be persuasive, touching, and hortatory, admonitory and expostulating, if need be vituperative even, indignant and sarcastic; but what the devil does a mentor do when the sinner makes no bones about confessing his sin?
- 1928, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, chapter 14, in Lady Chatterley’s Lover, [Florence, Italy: […] Tipografia Giuntina, […]], →OCLC; republished as Lady Chatterley’s Lover (eBook no. 0100181h.html)[1], Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, August 2011, archived from the original on 11 November 2020:
- Those other "pure" women had nearly taken all the balls out of me, but she was all right that way. She wanted me, and made no bones about it. And I was as pleased as punch. That was what I wanted: a woman who wanted me to fuck her. So I fucked her like a good un.
- 1932, Delos W. Lovelace, King Kong, published 1965, page 21:
- ‘I guess you don’t think much of a woman on a ship do you?’ ‘Not to make any bones about it, she’s usually a cock-eyed pest.’
- 2002 August 25, Kate Connolly, Amelia Hill, “Rattles fires parting shot at Brit Art bratpack”, in The Guardian[2]:
- One of the Berlin Philharmonic's musicians, horn player Fergus McWilliam from Scotland, said: 'He's clearly seeing it as his life's work, he's made no bones about that. There is a heightened sense of anticipation among the musicians.'
- 2005 March 13, Denny Lee, “Looking for Mr. Right Now”, in New York Times[3], retrieved 19 November 2016:
- Vince, a natty 23-year-old financial analyst from Hoboken, made no bones about his agenda. "I love it here, it's so whorish," he said.
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
to say, do, or indicate something clearly and without hesitation
|
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Gary Martin (1997–) “Make no bones about”, in The Phrase Finder.