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in so many words

Idioms  
  1. In those precise words; also, plainly, directly. For example, He didn't tell me in so many words, but I understood that he planned to apply, or, as Charles Dickens put it in Sketches by “Boz” (1836): “That the Lord Mayor had threatened in so many words to pull down the London Bridge.” [Late 1600s]


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

And Rupert turned to Elisabeth and told her, “Well, you should tell James to essentially quit. I want you to fire your brother,” in so many words.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

Allegedly, Romanians saw an American oil tycoon enjoying easy access to nice cars and other possessions and thought, in so many words, "Why can't that be me?"

From Salon • Apr. 11, 2025

Not in so many words, but Yog never made it a secret of how he perceived my part in our friendship and how it related to his evolution as a young man.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Curley was saying, in so many words, that the justices will not be handing down any more decisions until then, in a term in which they have so far decided cases at a glacial pace.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2023

There’s no mistaking what the themes of Mueller’s discussion are; he tells us in so many words.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker

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