tell it to the marines
English
WOTD – 2 November 2013, 2 November 2014
Etymology
Unknown, with many apocryphal suggestions.[1]
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Phrase
tell it to the marines
- (idiomatic, colloquial) I do not believe what you said.
- 1829, Douglas Jerrold, Act I, Scene ?:
- William. No palaver! tell it to the marines. What, tacking and double tacking! Come to what you want to say at once.
- 1868 February, Caroline M. Sawyer, “The Jester of Durano; Or, The Times of Old”, in The Ladies’ Repository, a Universalist Monthly Magazine for the Home Circle, volume XXXIX, Boston, Mass.: The Universalist Publishing House, page 128:
- I don’t believe the story you have been telling me, either, and think it far more likely that you are hiding from justice on account of some devil’s work you have been engaged in. Bah! Tell your story to the marines!
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Synonyms
- (idiomatic): tell it to Sweeney, tell it to the judge; see also Thesaurus:bullshit
Translations
expression of disbelief
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See also
- pull the other one, it's got bells on
References
- “Etymology of 'tell it to the marines'”, in Royal Museums Greenwich, accessed 2 June 2006, archived from the original on 2005-09-04