What Does it Mean to Not Have a Bad Bone in One’s Body?
To not have a bad, mean, dishonest, racist, etc. bone in one’s body means that the person referred to absolutely does not possess the quality named.
Many other adjectives can be used. The expression can be positive, negative, or neutral depending on the adjective used, such as lazy, honest, selfish, kind, etc.
A related variant replaces “bone in one’s body” with “hair on one’s head.”
The word “bad” in this idiom can be replaced by any adjective that describes character.
Lazy is a common adjective used for this idiom and could be considered positive or neutral depending on the context. A person who does not have a lazy bone in his body is a person who is always willing to work hard and is never idle. It is unclear whether the idiom ‘lazybones’ is related.
A person who does not have an honest bone in her body is never truthful, a negative trait.
Sentence Examples
“Tracy doesn’t have a mean bone in her body. She’s definitely not the person who got you in trouble.”
“Whatever Mr. Tourner says to you, do not do business with him. There’s not an honest bone in his body.”
“Well, it’s true, Tom doesn’t have a lazy bone in his body. But that doesn’t mean he’s the right man for this job.”
“He’s a pretty thing. There’s not a mean bone in his body.” “Curly will find one. He does all the breaking around here.” — The Man from Snowy River (1982)
“I know who you are.” “And you know my husband. You know that there is not a crazy bone in his body.” — Blue Sky (1994)
“Are you kidding? Egypt is harmless. There’s not an aggressive bone in his body.” — Meet Wally Sparks (1997)
Video Presentation
Origin of “Not Have a Bad, Mean, Lazy Bone in His Body”
Used since at least the mid-1800’s, the “lazy” variant of this idiom appeared in Mark Twain’s Library of Humor (1888) in the story The Vacation of Mustapha by Robert J. Burdette:
“Ofttimes he boasted to his neighbors that there was not a lazy bone in his body, and he swore that he hated a lazy man.”