adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
an honest mistake (= a mistake, and not a deliberate action )
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Thomas admitted he had broken the law, but said that it had been an honest mistake.
an honest/straight answer
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The honest answer is that I don’t know.
plain/honest/fair dealing (= a particular way of doing business )
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a reputation for fair dealing
the honest truth (= used to emphasize that you are telling the truth )
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We never came here to steal anything, and that’s the honest truth.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
as
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The Radio 1 playlist is much maligned, but it is as honest and fair as any system.
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We never hid anything from them and were as honest as we knew how to be.
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Be as honest as you can.
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I told her about myself in as honest terms as I could.
more
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These mandatory standards and minimum compensation made the international ocean bill of lading a more honest instrument.
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Or, to be more honest , where had it been?
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It may be more honest to face this for what it is.
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On the contrary, they are generally more honest .
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In an absurd world, perhaps a bit of nervous laughter is more honest than floods of tears.
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A modicum of order and justice was not imposed until 1784, after which a more honest regime was established.
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It would have been more honest to say that I thought the litterbug needed a lesson.
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The truth is that Melanie is all too typical of women today, if more honest .
most
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This makes even the most honest of answers seem indecisive and uncertain.
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That was the most honest part of her.
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He was one of the most honest men she had ever met.
perfectly
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To be perfectly honest , I like Depardieu a lot.
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To be perfectly honest , it left me pretty cold.
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To be perfectly honest , the place is an eyesore, an abomination.
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A rare privilege, and one you didn't deserve, to be perfectly honest .
so
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Thanks for being so honest with me.
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The same voice, sounding so honest and joyful that you want to believe, even when you know the truth.
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Lisa, Newquay Thanks for being so honest , Lisa.
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He was so honest and up front with me.
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But this one was so poignant, so honest .
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They're so honest , so straight.
too
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Created so by Ted Mosse, lover of uniforms, not too honest , deceased.
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Here were depths that Gordon could not easily contend with, and he was much too honest to minimize them.
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But Mr Utterson was too honest a man and a lawyer to do that.
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You are too honest to be trusted with some secrets.
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He was too honest and hardworking.
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You keep denying this, but you're too honest to get away with it.
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He was both too honest and too fond of Freeborn to make comforting and platitudinous promises.
totally
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This is the classic gesture used by those who are not being totally honest .
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He has no time for players who are not totally honest with him or with their approach to the game.
very
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She was normally a very honest person - so why had she just lied through her teeth?
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They were open about everything and very honest .
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However, you must be very honest when looking at your mare, because dubious mares breed dubious foals.
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He is a very honest man.
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He was very honest with her about his wife.
■ NOUN
answer
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The honest answer is another question; well what is there?
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In my mind, it was the only truly honest answer to my question.
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Unless it means he can't give an honest answer .
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Sadly the only honest answer to this question is that nobody knows.
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Please can we have some honest answers which really address the true situation?
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An honest answer seems to be that no one has the slightest idea.
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Thoughtful and honest answers to questions.
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No must surely be the honest answer .
broker
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His style is lucid and he emerges as an honest broker who judiciously weighs the historical evidence.
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Amoda tried to explain what I had said, to play the honest broker .
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By offering pre-service training we can surely do no worse than act as honest brokers in a fairly honourable profession.
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But he was never an honest broker .
face
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If only she could have seen them, seen their disappointment as she hurled their creation back in their honest faces .
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We have seen the honest faces of the hometown insurance representative on television ads, face after face, year after year.
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Henry Jekyll had a kind, open, honest face .
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He had a round, honest face with receding fair hair.
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He had an open, honest face .
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Harry was a handsome young man of about twenty-five, with a cheerful, honest face and friendly manners.
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She had an open, honest face , a natural smile and full lips which belied the uncompromising tone of her words.
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Sadie looked across at the open, honest face of her husband.
man
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I worship her and she won't make an honest man of me.
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Not only would there be elections but an honest man was going to run for president.
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He found him a hard-working and honest man , if a little curt and tacit.
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They that are honest men themselves are not apt to suspect other people.
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But we have some time before the treasure is found, and there are some honest men among the crew.
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But the most important single factor was the man who had built the business was an honest man.
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They had not consciously memorised the names or done anything which an honest man would consider wrong.
mistake
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Rex is as capable of making an honest mistake as he is of lying.
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It had been an honest mistake , though, the paddy wagon men believing he was dead or dying.
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It had been an honest mistake .
people
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They were arrogant but, by and large, they were decent, honest people .
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The image of the war that I sketched earlier continues to color the efforts of many honest people .
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Amid the flow of migrants there may be murderers and rapists, but also honest people .
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The society had become so perverted by power and corruption that honest people were considered to be stupid.
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In school, we were taught by teachers who were conscientious and honest people .
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This is a topic about which honest people can differ.
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It was unforgivable, the butcher declared, a cretinous act that had stopped honest people going about their business.
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As it happens I ve got a lot of time for honest people like Mr Bassett.
person
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She was normally a very honest person - so why had she just lied through her teeth?
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It must have stuck in her mind, that an honest person might act out of character when severely threatened.
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This in my opinion is a poor reward for honest persons like me.
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Two friends of the woman countered by saying she was an honest person who was bruised and upset by what happened.
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Dole supporters described the Senate majority leader as a decent, honest person .
truth
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He was sensitive, vulnerable, amazed when his honest truths gave offence.
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Sherman, tell me the honest truth .
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The honest truth , never before revealed, is that there are two types of slimmer.
woman
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An honest woman changes her name: she marries.
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Why does Lord Staveley say that no honest woman is safe with you?
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The majority of the camp followers were however, good honest women who were the wives and sweethearts of the troops.
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If dishonoured her, must then make an honest woman of her?
work
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In some strange way he was grateful to the man for looking after Eline, for finding her honest work .
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Looking for nearly honest work , &038;.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
generous/loyal/honest etc to a fault
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David was loyal to a fault , and in his naive understanding quietly expected the same kind of loyalty in return.
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He is loyal to a fault , even to his enemies.
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His father's brother, Gloucester had hitherto been loyal to a fault .
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Your tutor may be generous to a fault but can not reward irrelevance or peripheral knowledge display. 3.
honest Injun
honest to God
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"Are you on drugs?" "No, honest to God , I'm not."
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Honest to God , I wasn't there.
honest to God
less than helpful/honest/enthusiastic etc
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Although he did not reject a fact-finding mission outright, Major was clearly less than enthusiastic about the idea.
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But in the same interview Mr Dole, as is his way, was a little less than helpful to the president.
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But the way in which they are present may be less than helpful.
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In this dilemma, Eliot was less than helpful to his apologists.
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Not surprisingly, the reaction of local residents to the schemes was less than enthusiastic.
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The refugees are naturally less than enthusiastic about this.
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Those who had known him from that earlier period, however, were less than enthusiastic about his elevation.
let's face it/let's be honest
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Let's face it, Scott. We're not as young as we used to be.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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a fair and honest businessman
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All we are asking is that management be honest with us, even if the situation is difficult.
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As the job involves handling large amounts of money, it's essential that our workers are honest .
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He's one of the few honest politicians we have left.
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I don't think she's being completely honest about what she knows.
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She was scrupulously honest in all her business dealings.
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Tell me where you were - and I want an honest answer.
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They were good, honest , hard-working people.
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You can always rely on Stewart to be honest .
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You need to have an honest opinion of yourself.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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He is being honest and honesty is such a rare quality in a performer that the audience are stunned.
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It's probably the only honest bit of politics left.
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Recommending a strong secretary-general can sound like touting safe airlines or honest stockbrokers.
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She horrifies me, to be honest .
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That was the most honest part of her.
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The attendant was entirely honest in his answers to my questions and in the amount of fuel he pumped.
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They also need to be embarrassed and confronted by their honest countrymen.
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They are flash people who have money to throw about, and not all the money they throw about is honest money.