Wearing your heart on your sleeve

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I am not the type of person who wears his heart on his sleeve. It is a little odd to say because a lot of people say I am a very open person. Is it possible to be both? I like to think that I am an open person but there are things that I don’t talk about for various reasons. I have written a few things lately that I have posted on my website but not on Facebook. I think it does help to just write things down and I might do more of it in the future. However, I don’t want my family and some friends to read those posts. They are too personal to share with people who are close to me, but I have no problem telling strangers. I think people feel freer to tell strangers some things rather than people they are close to. I think it might be because we care about the opinions of our friends and being open leaves you vulnerable to attacks that can really hurt. However, we don’t care about the opinions of strangers as much, so what they say won’t hurt as much.

 

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Meaning

If you wear your heart on your sleeve, it means that you are emotionally available. Someone who wears their heart on their sleeve can easily express their feelings and doesn’t try to hold them back. It is often used to talk about relationships and how open people are. That means you show you show your emotions, and you don’t hide your feelings. It is mostly used to describe a person rather than used actively.

For example: He really wears his heart on his sleeve. He is not afraid to cry in front of his girlfriend.

 

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Origin

While wearing your heart on your sleeve is a common expression, the history of the phrase is not well known. We know that it was being used idiomatically by the 1600s when Shakespeare There are a couple of possible origins of this phrase. The most common, and generally accepted origin, being medieval knights. Another idea (from the Smithsonian) is a decree from Emperor Claudius II.

Wearing your heart on your sleeve was first used in Shakespeare’s Othello (1603): “But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve for daws to peck at. I am not what I am.” In the play, Iago wants revenge. However, he understands that when he shows outwardly what he feels inwardly, he will be at his most vulnerable. He expresses this by saying that his heart will be exposed for daws (small crow) to peck at (eat).

In the Middle Ages, in Europe, there were jousts. They were a sporting contest where knights would fight each other for entertainment. In a joust, the knights rode on horses and tried to knock the other knight off their horse using a long spear. Often, the knight would dedicate their performance to a woman in the royal family, or lady of the court. They would wear something owned by the lady, like a scarf or ribbon, around their arm. A lot of people say that this is where heart on your sleeve comes from.

 

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Valentine

Another possible origin comes the reign of Emperor Claudius II. He believed that single soldiers were better than married ones. So, he made it illegal for them to get married. Instead, he encouraged temporary relationships. During a festival dedicated to Juno, young men were randomly assigned a young woman for the year. The men would wear the woman’s name on their sleeve for the rest of the festival. I should note that I haven’t seen this idea written in other places. So, it is less known and less accepted as the true origin. I think it is an interesting story though. In fact, Claudius II was responsible for beheading Saint Valentine. When Claudius banned marriages in Rome, Valentine (a priest) continued to perform secret marriages. On February 14th, he was beaten to death and had his head cut off.

Do you wear your heart on your sleeve?

 

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Resources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-origins-of-wearing-your-heart-on-your-sleeve-17471279/
https://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/othello/quotes
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/origin-of-wear-heart-on-sleeve
https://grammarist.com/idiom/wear-ones-heart-on-ones-sleeve/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/st-valentine-beheaded
https://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020216/windows/roots.htm

 

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