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have nothing on

  1. Have no advantage over something or someone, as in This car has nothing on my old one . [c. 1900]

  2. Have no damaging information or proof of wrongdoing about someone, as in The police had nothing on him and so were forced to let him go . This usage is the antonym of have something on someone , as in Blackmail requires that you have something on someone wealthy . [c. 1920]

  3. Be naked, as in Please bring in the mail; I just took a bath and don't have anything on .

  4. Have nothing scheduled for a certain time, as in We have nothing on tonight, so why don't you come over? This expression, and its antonym, have something on , are abbreviations of have nothing (or something ) going on .



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Idioms and Phrases

Also, not have anything on .

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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have-nothave nothing to do with