Meanings
- idiomaticUsed to apologize for a possibly impolite statement one is making; to put it bluntly; to express it in plain terms.
My little woman is at present in—not to put too fine a point on it—in a pious state, or in what she considers such, and attends the Evening Exertions (which is the name they go by) of a reverend party of the name of Chadband.
1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, “Mr. Bucket”, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC, page 2173 more examples
En route, to his taciturn, and, not to put too fine a point on it, not yet perfectly sober companion, Mr Bloom, who at all events, was in complete possession of his faculties, never more so, in fact disgustingly sober, spoke a word of caution re the dangers of nighttown, women of ill fame and swell mobsmen, […]
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[Episode 16: Eumaeus]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC, part III [Nostos], page 570Well, Minister, if you ask me for a straight answer, then I shall say that, as far as we can see, looking at it by and large, taking one time with another in terms of the average of departments, then in the final analysis it is probably true to say, that at the end of the day, in general terms, you would probably find that, not to put too fine a point on it, there probably wasn't very much in it one way or the other. As far as one can see, at this stage.
1980, Antony Jay, Jonathan Lynn, Yes Minister, season 1, episode 5You explain slowly and clearly that you are doing him the honour of not beating about the bush […] Well, you will end up – not to put too fine a point on it (you lower your voice) – having sex. And while you are sure that sex would be very nice, the prognosis for a future between the two of you is not good.
2000, Amy Jenkins, chapter 4, in Honeymoon, London: Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN; republished as Honeymoon (Flame), London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001, →ISBN, page 39
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
A reference to the fact that the speaker is about to say something blunt rather than fine (that is, delicate or subtle).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish anteeksi ilmaisuni
- anteeksi ilmaisuniused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
French si vous me permettez l'expression, pardonnez-moi l'expression
- si vous me permettez l'expressionused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
- pardonnez-moi l'expressionused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
- passez-moi l'expressionused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
Hungarian hogy ne mondjam
- hogy ne mondjamused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
Polish mówiąc bez ogródek, przepraszam za wyrażenie
- mówiąc bez ogródekused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
- przepraszam za wyrażenieused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
Turkish ayıptır söylemesi
- ayıptır söylemesiused to apologize for a possibly impolite statement
Cite this entry
not to put too fine a point on it. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20to%20put%20too%20fine%20a%20point%20on%20it
“not to put too fine a point on it.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20to%20put%20too%20fine%20a%20point%20on%20it. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not to put too fine a point on it,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20to%20put%20too%20fine%20a%20point%20on%20it.
Source: not to put too fine a point on it on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.