make no bones about

English

Etymology

In reference to ‘finding bones’ in a matter, itself a reference to finding bones in soup.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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)

1. (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

• have a bone to pick

Translations

to say, do, or indicate something clearly and without hesitation

• German: nicht viel Aufhebens machen um, kein Aufheben machen von, frei heraus sagen, keine Umschweife machen
• Greek: έξω απ' τα δόντια (el) (éxo ap' ta dóntia)

See also

• unflinching
• unhesitating
• unsparing