speak one's mind


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?See also: mind, speak

speak one's mind

Also, speak out. Say what one really thinks, talk freely and fearlessly, as in Will you give me a chance to speak my mind or am I supposed to agree with everything you say? or Jan welcomed the chance to speak out about abortion. The first term dates from about 1600, the variant from the late 1600s. Also see speak one's piece. See also: mind, speak

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.”See also: speak