tell it to the marines
English edit
Etymology edit
Unknown, with many apocryphal suggestions.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase edit
- (idiomatic, colloquial) I do not believe what you said.
- 1829, Douglas Jerrold, Act I, Scene ?:
- William. No palaver! tell it to the marines. What, tacking and double tacking! Come to what you want to say at once.
- 1868 February, Caroline M. Sawyer, “The Jester of Durano; Or, The Times of Old”, in The Ladies’ Repository, a Universalist Monthly Magazine for the Home Circle, volume XXXIX, Boston, Mass.: The Universalist Publishing House, page 128:
- I don’t believe the story you have been telling me, either, and think it far more likely that you are hiding from justice on account of some devil’s work you have been engaged in. Bah! Tell your story to the marines!
Synonyms edit
- (idiomatic): tell it to Sweeney, tell it to the judge; see also Thesaurus:bullshit
Related terms edit
Translations edit
expression of disbelief
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See also edit
References edit
- ^ “Etymology of 'tell it to the marines'”, in Royal Museums Greenwich[1], 2006 June 2 (last accessed), archived from the original on 4 September 2005