turn a hair, not



turn a hair, not

Not become afraid or upset, remain calm, as in She didn't turn a hair during the bank robbery. This term, also put as without turning a hair, comes from horse racing. After a race, a horse often has roughened, outward-turned hair. Its figurative use, nearly always in the negative, dates from the late 1800s.
See also: not, turn

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Merit (1)MER-itEnglish (Rare)
Oddo-Italian
Marciane-Portuguese (Brazilian)
Osheen-Irish
BritaBRIT-ah (Swedish), BREE-tah (Finnish)Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
MÓIrÍN-Irish