Meanings
- colloquialrhetoricA rhetorical question in response to a question to which the answer is an emphatic yes.
Synonyms: does a bear shit in the woods?, does Dolly Parton sleep on her back?, is the Pope Catholic
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseA rhetorical question in response to a question to which the answer is an emphatic yes.
Origin
Referring to the family of former American president John F. Kennedy, who was famously shot by an assassin.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
are the Kennedys gun-shy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/are%20the%20Kennedys%20gun-shy
“are the Kennedys gun-shy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/are%20the%20Kennedys%20gun-shy. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “are the Kennedys gun-shy,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/are%20the%20Kennedys%20gun-shy.
Source: are the Kennedys gun-shy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.