tell it to the marines

English

WOTD – 2 November 2013, 2 November 2014

1918 song

Etymology

Unknown, with many apocryphal suggestions.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Phrase

tell it to the marines

1. (idiomatic, colloquial) I do not believe what you said.
   • 1829, Douglas Jerrold, Act I, Scene ?:

     William. No palaver! tell it to the marines. What, tacking and double tacking! Come to what you want to say at once.

   • 1868 February, Caroline M. Sawyer, “The Jester of Durano; Or, The Times of Old”, in The Ladies’ Repository, a Universalist Monthly Magazine for the Home Circle, volume XXXIX, Boston, Mass.: The Universalist Publishing House, page 128:

     I don’t believe the story you have been telling me, either, and think it far more likely that you are hiding from justice on account of some devil’s work you have been engaged in. Bah! Tell your story to the marines!

Synonyms

• (idiomatic): tell it to Sweeney, tell it to the judge; see also Thesaurus:bullshit

Related terms

• horse marine

Translations

expression of disbelief

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鬼才信呢

• Dutch: maak dat de kat wijs (nl)
• Finnish: puhu pukille
• Galician: cóntalle iso á túa avoa, a outro can con ese óso
• Hungarian: hiszi a piszi
• Italian: raccontalo a qualcun altro, dillo a qualcun altro
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: den må du lenger ut på landet med

• Russian: расскажи́ э́то свое́й ба́бушке (rasskaží éto svojéj bábuške), расскажи́ э́то кому́-нибу́дь друго́му (rasskaží éto komú-nibúdʹ drugómu), ври́ бо́льше (vrí bólʹše)
• Spanish: a otro perro con ese hueso (es)
• Turkish: külahıma anlat
• Vietnamese: nói cho ma nó nghe

See also

• pull the other one, it's got bells on