through thick and thin

Cultural  

1. To stay with someone or something “through thick and thin” is to persevere through good times as well as bad: “She stood beside her friend through thick and thin.”

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through thick and thin Idioms  

1. Despite all obstacles or adversities, as in She promised to stand by him through thick and thin. This term alludes to penetrating a forest with both thick and sparse undergrowth. Today it is nearly always used with the idea of supporting something or someone in all circumstances, as in the example. [Late 1300s]

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Example Sentences

It’s awesome, to be supported through thick and thin.

From Los Angeles Times • May 19, 2026

“China has always stood in solidarity through thick and thin with the Global South, including Latin America and the Caribbean,” said the 6,700-word policy paper, China’s first on the region in almost a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 1, 2026

Over the years, a friendship formed between the singer and Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis, with Strummer attending the festival "through thick and thin".

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

I guarantee that the ever-growing, multi-partisan, pro-democracy army keeps working through thick and thin.

From Salon • Jul. 15, 2024

But mostly, it’s because I realized something the day she unrolled her magnificent dot game across the lunch table: Maya’s been my friend through thick and thin.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio

Related Words

• adamantly
• decisively
• doggedly
• persistently
• resolutely
• staunchly
• steadfastly
• strictly
• stubbornly
• tenaciously