take a hint

Idioms  

1. Also, take the hint. Accept an indirect or covert suggestion, as in Evelyn took the hint and quietly left the room. This idiom was first recorded in 1711.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

take a hint

For seeming unable to take a hint, Judge Beetlestone risks a rebuke.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025

If your mother still can’t take a hint, see if you can set her up to pay directly to your childcare provider instead.

From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2023

I might take a hint and switch to a newly repairable Pixel.

From The Verge ● Apr. 9, 2022

Of course, not one to take a hint, Kelly felt the need to continue the feud she'd initiated, even after Osaka had opted for the high road and deleted her tweet and blocked Kelly.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2021

He murped, then went to the edge of the overgrowth and stood there agitatedly, waiting for me to follow, glaring at me like I was an idiot who didn’t know how to take a hint.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer