phrase🎓 English idiom
through thick and thin
in good times and bad
What it means
Through both good times and bad, no matter what difficulties arise. It describes steadfast loyalty or perseverance that continues despite every obstacle.
Words like “through thick and thin” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- They stayed married through thick and thin for fifty years.
- She supported the team through thick and thin, win or lose.
- True friends stand by you through thick and thin.
- The family stuck together through thick and thin during the hard years.
Where it comes from
The phrase dates to the Middle Ages and originally meant travelling through 'thicket and thin wood', that is, through every kind of terrain. It came to mean enduring through all circumstances.
Related idioms
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