hearts on sleeves

noun

Transparent, open, or forthright emotions.

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Meanings

nounhearts on sleeves pl (plural only)
  1. idiomaticpluralplural onlyTransparent, open, or forthright emotions.

    Played with all hearts on sleeves. With angst. angst. angst.

    2002 July 23, Greil Marcus, “Real Life Rock Top 10”, in Salon; quoted in Greil Marcus, “Salon, 1999–2003”, in Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986–2014, New Haven, Conn.; London: Yale University Press, 2015, →ISBN, page 314
    5 more examples

    As they have avoided the consequences of one defeat in Standing Committee, we are trying to get another opportunity for the House to consider the matter in order to bring home to the Government that it is no use Ministers coming here with hearts on sleeves and being full of good intentions aimed at the electorate and anybody else who cares to listen.

    1975 June 11, Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), page 453

    THE SCHIAVO CASE: THE SCENE; Protesters With Hearts on Sleeves and Anger on Signs

    2005 March 28, Rick Lyman, The New York Times, section A, page 15

    Well, you’re not bothered – hearts on sleeves and all that – touché.

    2009, Hazel Wheeler, Crackers at Christmas: The Festive Trials of a Yorkshire Housewife, Amberley Publishing, published 2013, →ISBN

    It is a time for reflection, for hearts on sleeves and for dedications.

    2010, Luca Caioli, Messi: The Inside Story of the Boy Who Became a Legend, Icon Books, →ISBN

    On our last trip, hearts on sleeves and neighbourly love in spades had been replaced by clubs in hand and diamond geezers in warring gangs.

    2012, Sam Bleakley, “Getting Traction in Haiti”, in Surfing Tropical Beats, Alison Hodge Publishers, →ISBN, page 28
Cite this entry
APA

hearts on sleeves. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearts%20on%20sleeves

MLA

“hearts on sleeves.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearts%20on%20sleeves. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hearts on sleeves,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hearts%20on%20sleeves.

Source: hearts on sleeves on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.