- nail your colours to the mast
- British
to say clearly and publicly who you support or what you think about something
English dictionary. 2014.
nail your colours to the mast
Look at other dictionaries:
nail your colours to the mast — british phrase to say clearly and publicly who you support or what you think about something Thesaurus: to support an idea, plan or personsynonym Main entry: nail * * * nail your colours to the ˈmast idiom (especially BrE … Useful english dictionary
nail your colours to the mast — nail (your) colours to the mast to publicly state your opinions about a subject. Nobody knows which way he s going to vote because he has so far refused to nail his colours to the mast … New idioms dictionary
nail your colours to the mast — Meaning Show your intention to hold out until the end. Origin In nautical battles colours (flags) were lowered as a mark of submission. Nailing your colours to the mast meant you weren t intending to submit … Meaning and origin of phrases
nail colours to the mast — nail (your) colours to the mast to publicly state your opinions about a subject. Nobody knows which way he s going to vote because he has so far refused to nail his colours to the mast … New idioms dictionary
nail — nail1 S3 [neıl] n [: Old English; Origin: nAgl] 1.) a thin pointed piece of metal with a flat top, which you hit into a surface with a hammer, for example to join things together or to hang something on ▪ The key was hanging on a nail by the door … Dictionary of contemporary English
mast — [[t]mɑ͟ːst, mæ̱st[/t]] masts 1) N COUNT The masts of a boat are the tall upright poles that support its sails. 2) N COUNT A radio mast is a tall upright structure that is used to transmit radio or television signals. 3) to nail your colours to… … English dictionary
nail — [[t]ne͟ɪl[/t]] nails, nailing, nailed 1) N COUNT A nail is a thin piece of metal with one pointed end and one flat end. You hit the flat end with a hammer in order to push the nail into something such as a wall. A mirror hung on a nail above the… … English dictionary
nail — I UK [neɪl] / US noun [countable] Word forms nail : singular nail plural nails ** 1) a thin pointed piece of metal that you use to fix one thing to another by hitting it with a hammer 2) the smooth hard part that grows over the ends of your… … English dictionary
nail — 1 noun (C) 1 a thin pointed piece of metal which you force into a piece of wood with a hammer to fasten the wood to something else 2 the hard smooth layer on the ends of your fingers and toes: Damn! I ve just broken a nail. 3 a nail in sb s/sth s … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
With flying colours — A ship in harbor, flying its flags. With flying colours is a popular proverbial phrase of the English language. The phrase s origins relate to ship flags. Contents 1 History … Wikipedia
