no bones about it
4
8.3
- idiom
- Informal
- She is as Republican as her husband and makes no bones about it.
- made no bones about it
Examples
-
The Republicans make no bones about it.
Blog text (8) -
I make no bones about it.
-
I make no bones about it, and you can take it or leave it.
Blog text (34) -
Make no bones about it, this was a rivalry game.
Blog text (25) -
I've made no bones about it.
-
He made no bones about it; he liked her.
Fiction book (1990) -
Make no bones about it, I make my mistakes too, and plead for forgiveness every day.
Blog text (3) -
Now that it will not be repealed and will be the law of the land, they're making no bones about it.
Blog text (1) -
Rob Rowlson, the Town of West Hartford's Director of Community Services, makes no bones about it: too often planning can be an obstacle to private investment and development.
Blog text (10) -
He made no bones about it when he said he would not support the new policy.
Synonyms
784
1.8
Shows that something is almost certainly true, often before saying something different
107
2.3
Says that something is certainly true
24
9.9
You can be certain it is true
16
4.2
In a very clear, direct way that leaves no doubt
1
8.8
Certain to happen without any doubt
Completely sure in a strong, playful way
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
The overall meaning 'definitely; there is no doubt' cannot be derived from the literal senses of 'no', 'bones', 'about', and 'it' — 'bones' is semantically unrelated to certainty. Although the negation pattern 'no ... about it' might hint at denial, the expression is idiomatic and language-specific, so a B1 learner knowing the individual words would not reliably infer its intended meaning.
Etymology
No bones about it may come from a simple image: if meat has no bones, you do not need to stop and fuss, so the situation is clear and easy. That's why the phrase means 'no doubt' or 'definitely'.