English Reference
Idiom idiom

God's honest truth


Unquestionable, absolute truth.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

I am telling you the God's honest truth.

CONTEXTUAL

I did not break your vase, and that is the God's honest truth.

COMPLEX

Despite the mounting pressure to lie, he looked his accuser in the eye and swore he was telling the God's honest truth.


From the noun truth, intensified by the redundant addition of honest and further reinforced by the invocation of God. The phrase relies on the traditional standing of the deity as an exceptionally trustworthy authority.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bend the truth

    To change or leave out certain facts of a story or situation, generally in order to elicit a specific response in the audience.

  2. 02

    bow down before the porcelain god

    Synonym of worship the porcelain god (“to vomit into a toilet bowl”).

  3. 03

    call someone everything but a child of God

    To call someone many abusive names.

  4. 04

    economical with the truth

    Not telling the whole truth, especially in order to present a false image of a situation; untruthful; lying. Often used with sarcasm or satire.

  5. 05

    God forbid

    indicating that the occurrence of something is very undesirable

  6. 06

    God forfend

    Don't let it be.

  7. 07

    God is in the detail

    Expresses the idea that whatever one does should be done thoroughly; i.e. details are important.

  8. 08

    god that failed

    A notable let-down or flop; a concept, product, or person that has failed to live up to very high expectations.

Last updated August 10, 2026