tell that to the marines

tell that to the marines
tell that to the marines (informal)
A phrase expressing disbelief and ridicule, from the sailor's contempt for the marine's ignorance of seamanship
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Main Entry:marine

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tell that/it/to the Marines informal old-fashioned phrase
used for telling someone that you do not believe what they are saying
Thesaurus: ways of saying that you do not believe somethingsynonym
Main entry: Marines

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tell that (or it) to the marines
a scornful expression of disbelief
Origin:
from the saying that will do for the marines but the sailors won't believe it, referring to the horse marines, an imaginary corps of cavalrymen employed to serve as marines (thus out of their element)

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • tell that to the marines — ► tell that to the marines a scornful expression of disbelief. [ORIGIN: referring to the horse marines, an imaginary corps of cavalrymen employed to serve as marines (thus out of their element).] Main Entry: ↑marine …   English terms dictionary

  • Tell that to the marines — Marine Ma*rine , n. [F. marin a sea solider, marine naval economy, a marine picture, fr. L. marinus. See {Marine}, a.] 1. A solider serving on shipboard; a sea soldier; one of a body of troops trained to do duty in the navy. [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • tell that to the marines. — (Go) tell it/that to the marines. American something that you say in order to tell someone that you do not believe what they have just said. You were here all day? Sure, you were tell it to the marines …   New idioms dictionary

  • tell that to the marines — a scornful expression of disbelief. [referring to the horse marines, an imaginary corps of cavalrymen employed to serve as marines (thus out of their element).] → marine …   English new terms dictionary

  • tell that to the marines! —  Do you expect me to believe that! …   A concise dictionary of English slang

  • Go tell that to the marines. — (Go) tell it/that to the marines. American something that you say in order to tell someone that you do not believe what they have just said. You were here all day? Sure, you were tell it to the marines …   New idioms dictionary

  • Tell It to the Marines — Infobox Film name = Tell It to the Marines image size = caption = director = George W. Hill producer = George W. Hill writer = Richard Schayer narrator = starring = Lon Chaney William Haines music = cinematography = Ira H. Morgan editing =… …   Wikipedia

  • tell it to the marines. — (Go) tell it/that to the marines. American something that you say in order to tell someone that you do not believe what they have just said. You were here all day? Sure, you were tell it to the marines …   New idioms dictionary

  • tell it to the marines — I don t believe you, stop trying to fool me She said that she was going to start her own business but I told her to tell it to the marines as I didn t believe her …   Idioms and examples

  • Tell that to the marines! — См. Фома неверный …   Большой толково-фразеологический словарь Михельсона (оригинальная орфография)

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