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Vocabulary : Idioms : G : a gut feeling

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a gut feeling

Meaning: If you have a gut feeling, you sense something about a person or a situation, without knowing why, but you're sure what you sense is true.

For example:

  • As soon as I came into the room I had a gut feeling that something was wrong - and then I saw the dead body.

  • Chaz said his gut feeling was that Laura was lying and, sure enough, she was.

Origin: Probably derived from the fact that many people experience emotions and intuitive feelings as being centred on, or having a strong effect on, the stomach area, which is also called the gut. Interestingly, the nervous system's second biggest network of closely-interconnected neurones, after the brain, is located in this area of the body.

Quick Quiz:

Beth said she had a gut feeling that her husband was cheating on her, but she
  1. couldn't prove it
  2. could prove it
  3. had proved it already

Discuss: a gut feeling

Idiom of the Day

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