find it in one's heart
find it in (one's) heart to (do something)
To be able to convince oneself do something despite one's reluctance. I know I hurt you, but I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
See also: find, heart
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
find it in one's heart
Persuade oneself to do something, as in They were an hour late, but I couldn't find it in my heart to scold them. This expression, today generally put in the negative, alludes to searching self-examination. [Mid-1400s]
See also: find, heart
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
find it in one's heart, (not) to
To be inclined to do something; or to be unwilling to do something. This expression implies that a person is doing considerable soul-searching concerning an action, and as a cliché it may be obsolescent. It first appeared in the sixteenth century, in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia: “They cannot find in their hearts to love the author thereof.” It also appears in the King James Bible (1611) in the second Book of Samuel (7:27): “Therefore hath thy servant found in his heart to pray this prayer unto thee.”
See also: find
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- keep (someone or something) in sight
- keep in sight
- keep sight of
- keep sight of (someone or something)
- keep sight of somebody/something
- kick (oneself) for (doing something)
- wash (one's) hands of (someone or something)
- wash hands of
- wash one's hands of
- wash your hands of somebody/something