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I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

What's the meaning of the phrase 'I will wear my heart upon my sleeve'?

Display your feelings openly, for all to see.

What's the origin of the phrase 'I will wear my heart upon my sleeve'?

From Shakespeare’s Othello, 1604:

IAGO:
It is as sure as you are Roderigo,
Were I the Moor, I would not be Iago:
In following him, I follow but myself;

Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty,
But seeming so, for my peculiar end:
For when my outward action doth demonstrate
The native act and figure of my heart
In compliment extern, ’tis not long after
But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve
For daws to peck at: I am not what I am.

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Gary Martin is a writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.

Gary Martin

Writer and researcher on the origins of phrases and the creator of the Phrase Finder website. Over the past 26 years more than 700 million of his pages have been downloaded by readers. He is one of the most popular and trusted sources of information on phrases and idioms.
I will wear my heart upon my sleeve

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