through thick and thin
11
3.3
- idiom
- Informal
:
en las buenas y en las malas
- You should stick by your friends through thick and thin!
- stick together through thick and thin
- stay through thick and thin
- stand by us through thick and thin
Instead, love is a commitment to stick with someone through thick and thin, through the good and the ugly.
- Instead, love is a commitment to stick with someone through thick and thin, through the good and the ugly.
- You owe loyalty to your best friend who's been through thick and thin with you.
- But yeah, she stuck with me through thick and thin and I I gave her a lot of grief before it was over.
- It doesn't mean that you have to be the richest man in the world, but you have to know that no matter what, through thick and thin, that your woman will be supported.
- What I mean by that is this being through them through thick and thin is, for example, let's say he loses his job, he falls on hard times.
- So you go through thick and thin together and it can be very thin. The thin times can be very thin, but
Examples
-
I saw them stand by each other through thick and thin.
Blog text (20) -
We've been through thick and thin together.
-
Ever since then I just want us to stick together, through thick and thin.
-
We are all human, and they, as clients, will stick to me through thick and thin.
Blog text (12) -
Your husband should have your back all the time, through thick and thin.
Blog text (25) -
Instead, love is a commitment to stick with someone through thick and thin, through the good and the ugly.
-
You have stood by me through thick and thin, good times and bad.
-
Their friendship, which started over Thanksgiving years ago, has continued through thick and thin.
Blog text (8) -
They'll stick with us through thick and thin.
-
I was there for him through thick and thin, and so was he for me.
Synonyms
15
5.8
Firmly and without changing their mind
11
5.9
In a firm and loyal way showing strong support
1
7.4
In a strong, loyal, and determined way
Antonyms
How Loyal
- Informal
11
3.3
80
3.4
104
1.8
505
1.0
348
2.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The construction signals continuity ('through') plus a contrasting pair ('thick and thin') that can be interpreted as different conditions, so a learner might infer a general sense of enduring across situations. However, the shift from literal thickness to the idiomatic sense of 'good and bad times' is metaphorical and not fully predictable, so a B1 learner who only knows the component words may only partially infer the precise meaning without exposure.
Etymology
Through thick and thin may come from a simple picture: you travel 'through' land that is thick (dense trees and hard to move through) and then through places that are thin (open and easier to pass). So, to stay through thick and thin with someone means to be with them in all situations, 'good or bad'.