speak one's mind

speak (one's) mind

To voice one's thoughts plainly or bluntly. Can I just speak my mind, even though you probably won't like what I have to say?
See also: mind, speak
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

speak one's mind

Also, speak out. Say what one really thinks, talk freely and fearlessly, as in Will you give me a chance to speak my mind or am I supposed to agree with everything you say? or Jan welcomed the chance to speak out about abortion. The first term dates from about 1600, the variant from the late 1600s. Also see speak one's piece.
See also: mind, speak
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

speak one's mind, to

To say what one thinks. The idea of putting the mind’s contents in words is probably ancient, but the expression is first seen in Shakespeare’s works, as, “Give me leave to speak my mind” (As You Like It, 2.7). A synonym is to speak one’s piece, which transfers piece in the sense of a recited passage to the expression of an opinion. It dates from the mid-1800s; C. F. Browne wrote in A. Ward: His Travels (1865), “I have spoken my piece about the Ariel.” From the same period we have yet another equivalent, to have one’s say. George Meredith used it in Richard Feverel (1859): “Lobourne had its say on the subject.”
See also: speak
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • speak (one's) mind
  • speak mind
  • speak your mind
  • speak one's mind, to
  • on (one's) mind
  • on mind
  • on one's mind
  • on someone's mind
  • terrible
  • a mind is a terrible thing to waste
References in periodicals archive
It is simply the reinvigoration of the existing right to freely speak one's mind. For, in the marketplace of ideas that the Supreme Court has generally articulated for the First Amendment, the most important rebuttal to inquisitions is in the form of speech itself.
In particular, the Web offers religious browsers three advantages long attractive to Americans--choice, convenience, and a chance to speak one's mind. Because Web sites are so much cheaper to build or staff than cathedrals or even roadside shrines, and can survive with the tiniest of congregations, even the smallest group of believers or zealots can now afford to build and maintain an electronic church.
"It would devalue the Bill of Rights that for two centuries has encouraged tolerance of all views and the freedom to speak one's mind without fear of going to jail."
How refreshing it is for someone to speak one's mind on such a sensitive subject, and how alarming it is that those who were also embroiled in the row stayed silent as they did not want to cause offence.
Yet it has also been a challenge to speak one's mind. After an honest review of a legendary restaurant, one chef threatened to pull out his ads.
The freedom to speak one's mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty-and thus a good unto itself-but also is essential to the common quest for truth and the vitality of society as a whole.