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wiser

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be none the wiser

1. To not be aware of something (typically because others have kept it a secret). I came in after curfew last night, but it's OK because I was so quiet that my parents are none the wiser.

2. To not understand something, even after receiving explanations and information about it. My tutor has explained the quadratic equation to me many times, but I'm still none the wiser.

See also: none, wiser

none the wiser

not knowing any more in spite of events or exposure to facts. I was none the wiser about black holes after the lecture. It was a complete waste of time. Anne tried to explain the situation tactfully to Bob, but in the end, he was none the wiser.

See also: none, wiser

sadder but wiser

Cliché unhappy but knowledgeable [about someone or something--after an unpleasant event]. After the accident, I was sadder but wiser, and would never make the same mistake again. We left the meeting sadder but wiser, knowing that we could not ever come to an agreement with Becky's aunt.

See also: but, sad, wiser

be none the wiser

also not be (any) the wiser

1. to fail to understand something Isabel must have explained her idea three times to me, but I'm afraid I'm none the wiser. If you take the label off the jar and say you made it yourself, your guests won't be any the wiser.

2. to not be aware of something The health department gave the restaurant a health warning, but customers were none the wiser.

Usage notes: often said about efforts to be sure that no one is aware: I figured I could just get rid of the stuff, and you'd be none the wiser.

See also: none, wiser

sadder but wiser

if someone is sadder but wiser after a bad experience, they have suffered but they have also learned something from it He bought a second-hand car and ended up sadder but wiser after a series of breakdowns and expensive repairs.

See also: but, sad, wiser

be none the wiser

to still be confused about something, even after it has been explained to you Isobel must have explained the theory three times to me but I'm afraid I'm still none the wiser.

See also: none, wiser

no one will be any the wiser

something that you say which means that no one will notice something bad that someone has done Take the label off the jar and say you made it yourself. No one will be any the wiser.

See also: any, one, will, wiser

none the wiser

Knowing no more than before, as in He tried to explain the tax structure, but in the end I was none the wiser. [Early 1800s]

See also: none, wiser

sadder but wiser

Unhappy but having learned from one's mistakes, as in Sadder but wiser, she's never going near poison ivy again. The pairing of these two adjectives was first recorded in Samuel Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798).

See also: but, sad, wiser