unvarnished truth

unvarnished truth

The total, unadulterated truth; frank honesty not diluted or softened in any way by omission or embellishment. Your job is to give me the unvarnished truth about the company's performance each quarter, no matter how bleak it may be. Sarah isn't afraid to speak the unvarnished truth about what she thinks of anyone or anything.
See also: truth, unvarnished
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

unvarnished truth

The plain facts without embellishment, as in Let's just have the unvarnished truth about the sale. This idiom was first recorded in 1883, although unvarnished had been used to describe a direct statement since Shakespeare's time.
See also: truth, unvarnished
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

unvarnished truth, the

The straight facts. This expression has antecedents in the writings of Aeschylus (“Simple are the words of truth”), Euripides (“Plain and unvarnished are the words of truth”), and other ancient writers. Shakespeare came close to the modern wording: “In speaking for myself . . . I will a round unvarnish’d tale deliver of my whole course of love” (Othello, 1.3). See also tell it like it is.
See also: unvarnished
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • unvarnished
  • unvarnished truth, the
  • how the cow ate the cabbage
  • the truth of the matter
  • the honest truth
  • Is there any truth to (something)?
  • Is there any truth to?
  • in truth
  • pour honey in (one's) ear
  • grain of truth
References in periodicals archive
Cllr Campbell told the gathering, which was also attended by members of the public: "It is our responsibility that the whole unvarnished truth is told.
Don Kahle's opinion piece about his visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture highlighted the need for "more speech" and "the unvarnished truth," regarding the history of the confederacy and the abomination that was slavery ("African- American history's 'unvarnished truth,'" Sept 15).
It might not hurt the person at whom it is directed, but it certainly has the power to hurt the conveyer of the unvarnished truth.
COLD, unvarnished truth rarely darkens the doorstep of modern politics.
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS (15) COLD, unvarnished truth rarely darkens the doorstep of modern politics.
OUR BRAND IS CRISIS (15) Starring: Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton, Anthony Mackie, Joaquim de Almeida, Scoot McNairy, Ann Dowd, Zoe Kazan, Reynaldo Pacheco, Louis Arcella Director: David Gordon Green Duration: 107 mins COLD, unvarnished truth rarely darkens the doorstep of modern politics.
They want a candidate without re-packaging who will tell them the unvarnished truth. An aspirant who candidly provides the narrative, bravely identifying the problems and the solutions.
As Hustwit explains, on such a view, one that "de-claims" religious language, "all religions are equally alienated from the Real." In other words, the doctrines, claims, and practices of religious traditions are at best heuristic devices that attempt, but fail, to express sufficiently the unvarnished truth of divine transcendence.
"The unvarnished truth is our birthright, but we don't hear it often enough in politics.
Summary: Democratic elections cannot be described as competitions aimed at revealing which candidates tell the unvarnished truth.
Now at last we have the unvarnished truth from someone who really knows the score: playing golf for a living is not a job, just a very well paid indulgence.
However, the unvarnished truth is that the US suffered the terror of September 11 because of its support to Israel.
In Roadmap to Revenue, longtime marketing and sales guru Kristin Zhivago does what few experts in the field dare to do: tell the unvarnished truth about selling to customers.
Ellis lets her interviewees speak, in their own words, the unvarnished truth about themselves, their hopes and fears, their dreams and aspirations.
The hard unvarnished truth sets a foundation upon which proper decisions can be made to move the business forward.