Colin from Los Angeles, California, is pondering the expression make no bones about it, which suggests the speaker is talking or acting with no hesitation whatsoever. The saying is inspired by the idea of literally finding bones in one’s food, since having to pick them out could ruin the whole meal. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Make No Bones About It”
Hello, you have A Way with Words.
Hi, this is Colin from Los Angeles.
I go hiking sometimes and when I’m passing by people, like I’ll hear fragments of conversations. You just can’t avoid it. I heard something the other day that I’ve heard many times before. I don’t know what it means. And it’s make no bones about it. And I just don’t have any idea what it means.
All right. So, yeah, we can give you some clarity on this. Do you have some guesses about what it means?
No. I mean, like, I guess it’s just, it’s like being firm in your belief, I guess.
That’s pretty good. It’s about speaking or acting without hesitation and not equivocating. It means when people might expect you to be cautious or reluctant to say anything. Instead, you speak frankly and forthrightly. Or you’re just basically saying, make no bones about it. I’m a firm believer in X, right? Meaning, don’t doubt me in my sincerity.
Okay. And the origin of it is a little bit of a cool thing, I think, Martha, don’t you? It’s this whole idea that about not finding bones in your food where you didn’t want bones, like not finding bones in fish. That’s literally saying in this meal of a conversation we’re having, I see no bones to stick in my throat, more or less.
Oh, my God. Yeah, there’s no bones to ruin this encounter. Like nothing to stop me from doing what I’m going to do. So it’s literally about bones and food. Literally about bones and food because, you know, you can choke on a bone or it can pierce your gums or what have you.
And this whole idea of bones shows up in other European languages such as Dutch and Yiddish. But other languages approach it a little differently. The French have a couple of really interesting ones. One is, ne pas y aller de ma mort, which literally means don’t go there with a dead hand. And they also say, ne pas y aller avec le dos de la cuillère, to not go there with the back of the spoon, which I get a little more. It’s a little more like, why are you eating with the back of the spoon when you should be eating with the front, which is more straightforward.
But they have the more acceptable don’t take four paths, don’t take four roads, which is kind of like our don’t beat around the bush. And it is different than the mafia slang of to make one’s bones, which means to become a made man, to become like an official member of the family. That’s a whole different thing. Like a bone of contention. There’s that too, right? That’s another one arguing about the bone.
But anyway, bones, so many of our metaphors are about food and eating. Yeah, no, it’s very interesting. I had no idea that that’s what that meant, but it makes perfect sense to me.
Well, make no bones about it, Colin. We are glad that you called, and you should call us again, all right?
Okay, I really appreciate it. All right, take care of yourself. Happy hiking. Bye-bye.
Okay, thanks, bye. What have you heard or overheard recently that made you wonder? We’d love to talk with you about it. If it involves language, 877-929-9673, or email us, words@waywordradio.org.
