A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given.

I want a simpler life, without the hassle of being online. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit the life I want.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter M

Make no bones about

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Make no bones about means to speak frankly, openly, and without hesitation or ambiguity; in dialogue, it conveys honesty, directness, or blunt assertion, removing euphemism or diplomatic softening.

Detailed Definition
Make no bones about means to speak plainly, directly, and without hesitation or concealment. In poetry, it can characterise a blunt speaker, moral certainty, or a moment when evasive language is rejected. The idiom has a bodily oddness that can add texture to colloquial voice. It is useful in dramatic monologues, satire, and poems of confession or confrontation. A poet may use it to emphasise candour, but also to show how bluntness can be admirable, tactless, or deliberately provocative.
Example
Example in poetry:
A satirical speaker might make no bones about despising the corrupt court; In a love poem, the beloved makes no bones about refusing false praise; The phrase means to speak plainly without hesitation; A poet can use it to give a voice directness and force.
Additional Notes
Make no bones about means speak frankly, without hesitation or concealment. The idiom’s origin is uncertain, but the bones suggest obstacles, remains, or something difficult to swallow. In poetry, it can create a blunt, plain-speaking voice, especially in satire, confession, or moral judgement. Students should compare it with lay it on the line and come clean. It often signals that the speaker refuses tact, evasion, or ornament.
Also Known As
be direct
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