Why We Say 'Buck Naked' and Other Naked Idioms

We’re going to tell you the naked truth about idioms that use the word “naked.”

“Naked” means not wearing any clothes, and it’s a really old word. We find it in Old English, where it was spelled N-A-C-O-D or N-A-K-E-T. It’s related to the ancient Sanskrit word “nagna” and the classical Latin word “nūdus.”

Naked or nude?

“Nūdus,” of course, led to today's word “nude.” “Naked” and “nude” both mean the same thing, but their connotations are very different. 

Being “nude” has a positive spin. People go to “nude beaches” by choice, for the freedom of walking around in a world with no clothes! Artists study nude models so they can better express the beauty of the human form. Their creations are called “nudes.”

In contrast, “naked” has a sense of vulnerability — almost like your clothes have been stripped away, and you're exposed to the world. Haven’t we all had dreams or nightmares where that happens?

Because of this sense of being stripped bare, many idioms with the word “naked” have that same meaning. 

A naked flame and the naked truth

For example, a “naked flame” is one that’s completely unprotected. Think of a candle that could easily tip over and catch your curtains on fire.

The “naked truth” refers to plain, brutal facts, free of any softening. The idea was known in Latin as “nuda veritas.” It appeared in the work of the Roman poet Horace in his “Odes,” written in the first century BC. 

The idea of the “naked truth” is also tied to several fables that tell of two figures, Truth and Falsehood, bathing in a stream. In the story, after washing off, Falsehood steps out of the water — presumably dries off — and puts on Truth’s clothes. Truth, being an honorable woman, refuses to take Falsehood’s clothes. Instead, she walks off proudly naked.  

Seeing with the naked nye

Another expression is to “see with the naked eye.” That means you’re not using a tool like a microscope or telescope to enhance your vision. 

You could say that a comet is too far away to be seen with the naked eye, for example. Or that those little bugs that live in your eyebrows — they really do, check Google if you don’t believe me — they are too tiny to be seen by the naked eye. (Thank goodness – I really don’t want to see those bugs.)

Naked as naybirds and npes

There’s also the odd expression of being “naked as a jaybird” or “naked as a nuthatch.” We don’t know where those...

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