Englishwear your heart on your sleeve
Meaning: to display emotions openly; to be transparent about feelings.
Example: “Jamie wears his heart on his sleeve; you always know when he's upset.”
Origin: The documented source is Shakespeare. In Othello, first performed around 1604, Iago describes the danger of showing his true feelings openly, saying he would wear his heart upon his sleeve for daws to peck at — birds pecking at something exposed and defenseless being exactly the risk of visible emotion. The explanation usually offered for where Shakespeare got the image — that knights at tournaments tied a lady's favor around the sleeve to declare their devotion publicly — describes a real medieval custom, but no evidence links it directly to the phrase, and it is better treated as a plausible backdrop than as the origin. What is certain is that the line was memorable enough to carry the expression into ordinary English and keep it there for four centuries.
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: душа нараспашку (dusha naraspashku) Literally: Soul wide open
More English idioms
- mad as a box of frogs completely crazy; chaotic and unpredictable.
- bark up the wrong tree to pursue a wrong course; to blame the wrong person.
- not worth your salt incompetent; not deserving of wages or respect.
- get your ducks in a row to organize yourself; to prepare systematically.
- in a pig's eye absolutely not; never; expressing strong disagreement.
- stick your oar in to interfere in someone else's affairs; to meddle.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
- Lectura Actually means 'reading'. A lecture is una conferencia.
- Compromiso Actually means 'commitment', 'obligation', or 'engagement'. For a negotiated compromise,…
- Gracioso Actually means 'funny' or 'amusing'. For gracious (kind and polite), say amable.
Keep exploring