speak (one's) mind
To voice one's thoughts plainly or bluntly. Can I just speak my mind, even though you probably won't like what I have to say?
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
speak one's mind
Fig. to say frankly what one thinks (about something). Please let me speak my mind, and then you can do whatever you wish. You can always depend on John to speak his mind. He'll let you know what he really thinks.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
speak one's mind, to
To say what one thinks. The idea of putting the mind’s contents in words is probably ancient, but the expression is first seen in Shakespeare’s works, as, “Give me leave to speak my mind” (As You Like It, 2.7). A synonym is to speak one’s piece, which transfers piece in the sense of a recited passage to the expression of an opinion. It dates from the mid-1800s; C. F. Browne wrote in A. Ward: His Travels (1865), “I have spoken my piece about the Ariel.” From the same period we have yet another equivalent, to have one’s say. George Meredith used it in Richard Feverel (1859): “Lobourne had its say on the subject.”
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer