hold no brief for (someone or something)

To be unable or unwilling to tolerate or support someone or something. The senator has stated numerous times that he holds no brief for the "rights" of big corporations. The boss holds no brief for slackers. I hold no brief for people who can't keep their word. If you don't take the things you say seriously, why should I?

hold no brief for something

BRITISH, FORMAL

If you hold no brief for a person, organization, activity or belief, you do not support them or respect them. This newspaper holds no special brief for a committee that has done nothing to distinguish itself in the past. He holds no brief for formal education. Note: In law, a brief is all the papers relating to a particular client's case that are collected by the client's solicitor and given to the barrister who will represent them in court.

See also: brief, for, hold, no, something

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

hold no ˈbrief for somebody/something

(formal) not be in favour of or not support somebody/something, for example a cause, an idea, etc: I hold no brief for long prison sentences but this terrible crime really deserves one.

Brief in this expression is the summary of facts and legal points in a case that is given to a lawyer to argue in a court. If a lawyer ‘holds no brief for’ a person, company, etc. this is not one of their clients/cases.

See also: brief, for, hold, no, somebody, something

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