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yes and no
Idioms and Phrases
In some ways and not others, as in Did you enjoy yourself?—Yes and no, I liked the music itself but hated the conductor . This idiom, always a reply to a question, was first recorded in 1873.Example Sentences
“I want to hire people who can tell me yes and no, what’s doable and what’s not, what’s impossible,” Carson Palmer said.
In paranormal investigations ghosts are asked to move the rods to answer "yes" and "no" to questions.
“Yes and no. Yes, because it accomplished little except to throw away the rest of my life. ... And, no, I’m not sorry I tried, because at the time it seemed a correct expression of my anger.”
The answer over the decades has been yes and no, depending on the year.
But as of this writing, it is still too close to call, with the yes and no votes virtually even.
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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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