make no bones about

Idioms

Act or speak frankly about something, without hesitation or evasion. For example, Tom made no bones about wanting to be promoted, or Make no bones about it—she's very talented. Versions of this expression date back to the mid-1400s and the precise allusion is no longer known. Some believe it meant a boneless stew or soup that one could eat without hesitation; others relate it to dice, originally made from bones, that were thrown without hesitation or fuss.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Because this alt comedy makes no bones about its characters or situations being even remotely logical or realistic, anything goes — and does.

From Los Angeles Times

Cadillac have made no bones about the fact that they expect to finish last this year.

From BBC

When the buzzer mercifully sounded, the box score made no bones about the fact the Trojans had been outworked and outclassed in almost every facet of the game.

From Los Angeles Times

British freestyle skier Gus Kenworthy, who won 2014 Olympic silver for the United States but has switched to the country of his birth, made no bones about his distaste for ICE.

From Barron's

Single-stock ETF managers make no bones about the risks, emphasizing that they aren’t meant for long-term investors but rather active traders.

From Barron's

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023