Englishno love lost
Meaning: mutual dislike; bad relations between people.
Example: “There's no love lost between the two rival chefs on this street.”
Origin: Meant two opposite things for well over a century, and the surviving sense is the one that won rather than the one that was original. Read one way, no love is lost between two people because none is wasted — every bit of affection sent is returned, so the phrase praises a close bond. Read the other way, no love is lost because there was never any love there to lose. Both senses are attested through the 1600s and 1700s, sometimes in the same period and occasionally in ways that leave a reader genuinely unable to tell which is meant. The affectionate reading died out over the 1800s, leaving only the hostile one, which is why the phrase now sounds unambiguously cold despite being built from words that never say so directly.
More English idioms
- take the plunge to commit to something risky; to make a decisive move.
- a nose for something a talent for finding or recognizing something; keen instinct.
- keep your chin up to remain optimistic; to stay courageous during difficulty.
- pitter-patter of little feet the sound of children running; anticipation of having babies.
- be in someone's shoes to understand someone's perspective; to experience their situation.
- cry over spilled milk to regret something past; useless to grieve over unchangeable events.
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