English Explanatory Dictionary

wear on one's sleeve

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To express (an emotion, belief, or stance) overtly and make it an important part of one's public life.

Word forms

wear on one's sleeve wears on one's sleeve wearing on one's sleeve wore on one's sleeve worn on one's sleeve

Etymology

This phrase may derive from a mediaeval custom at jousting matches. Knights are said to have worn the colours of the lady they were supporting, in cloths or ribbons tied to their arms. The term does not date from that period though, and is first recorded in Shakespeare's Othello, 1604, in which the treacherous Iago's plan was to feign openness and vulnerability in order to appear faithful.

Related words

to wear one's heart on one's sleeve
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