wear your heart on your sleeve
to show your emotions openly
What it means
"Wear your heart on your sleeve" is an English idiom meaning to show your emotions openly rather than hiding them. It describes someone whose feelings — especially affection — are easy for others to read. Possibly originates from medieval knights tying a lady's ribbon to their sleeve in tournaments.
Words like “wear your heart on your sleeve” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- He wears his heart on his sleeve, so you always know how he feels.
- She's not afraid to wear her heart on her sleeve when she's in love.
- Wearing your heart on your sleeve can leave you vulnerable to being hurt.
- Unlike his guarded brother, Tom wears his heart on his sleeve.
Where it comes from
The phrase appears in Shakespeare's Othello (1604) and may also refer to a medieval custom of knights tying a lady's token to their sleeve in tournaments.
Related idioms
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