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Glite Dictionary
no skin off my back

no skin off my back

9.0
Not upset or harmed when something happens to someone else
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : no me importa
  • If you don't want to come to the party, it's no skin off my back.

Examples

  • Whether he stays or quits is no skin off my back.

  • It's no skin off my back if they disagree with the decision.

  • That's no skin off my back!

  • If she wants to leave, that's no skin off my back.

  • If he wants to ignore the invitation, it's no skin off my back.

  • If they choose to leave early, it's no skin off my back.

  • Whether or not she takes the job is no skin off my back.

Synonyms

no skin off my nose
vsno skin off my back
  • UK
1 9.7

It does not bother me if something happens

has identical meaning but uses a different informal phrase
no skin off my teeth
vsno skin off my back
  • Informal
1 9.9

It does not matter to me

is used to show indifference to things that happen to other people
to care a hang
vsno skin off my back
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To feel no interest or worry at all about something

refers specifically to not being affected by others' situations rather than general apathy
not my circus, not my monkeys
vsno skin off my back
  • Informal
9.9

To say that something is not your problem

focuses on personal lack of care or being unaffected rather than responsibility
like water off a duck's back
vsno skin off my back
7.5

Does not let criticism or insults affect them

applies more broadly to not caring or being unaffected by other events

Antonyms

concerned
∞ 2.2

Worried about something or showing care for someone

affected
3.6

Changed because of something outside

How Affected

distressed
35 2.9
upset
∞ 1.0
bothered
1.6
irritated
44 3.1
no skin off my back
  • Informal
9.0

Surface Forms

no skin off my back main

Morphology

no + skin + off + mine + back

The components ('no' + 'skin' + 'off' + 'my' + 'back') evoke bodily-harm imagery that can hint at 'not being harmed or affected', so a learner might partially infer the sense. However, the conversational meaning 'it doesn't concern me / I don't care' is idiomatic and not fully predictable from the literal parts, and similar imagery is not universally used across languages, making it only partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom no skin off my back comes from a simple image: imagine someone taking skin from your back, and if there is 'no skin' to take you do not lose anything or feel hurt. So, it means 'not affected' or 'I don't care'.