Today's Japanese expression: 歯に衣着せない

I was watching a short documentary on television today, about some ice skater (I already forgot hist name...). The documentary mentioned that he was very popular: not only did he win many championships, but also: 「記者会見での歯に衣着せぬ発言で大人気でした」.

I have to admit that I did not know 歯に衣着せぬ (or 歯に衣着せない). Neither did I know how to pronounce it: はにきぬきせぬ. 衣（きぬ） is an old word for "clothes". Thus, literally this expression means something like "to not put clothes on ones teeth". A better translation is "to speak frankly" or "to speak bluntly".

So, the ice skater from the documentary was not only popular because of his successes on the ice, but also because he used to speak his mind outright during press conferences.

Another nice example: 「歯に衣着せずに言えば, あの人は男は愚か者だ」 - "To say things frankly, that man is a fool"


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