honest-to-goodness

adjective

chiefly US, informal

: not fake, false, or artificial : real

He is an honest-to-goodness legend.

an honest-to-goodness movie star

Examples of honest-to-goodness in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But there are glimmers of hope, particularly after the first two (sadly) table-setting episodes, that there is some honest-to-goodness storytelling momentum here. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 21 June 2026

Trading the Blue Arrow offers you a window to author a real, honest-to-goodness makeover. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 8 June 2026

But what would represent meaningful and significant progress on this homestand, after winning one honest-to-goodness game? — Tim Britton, New York Times, 20 Apr. 2026

Ironically, an honest-to-goodness mummy movie consumed with exotica (the first one from 1932 was released in the wake of the global mania over King Tut’s tomb) makes a lot of sense right now, with America straying into foreign deserts. — Joshua Rothkopf, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2026

The Hornets are one more win away from an honest-to-goodness, legitimate playoff berth for the first time in a decade. — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 16 Apr. 2026

This is not what real, honest-to-goodness, ride-or-die friends do. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 18 Mar. 2026

All-Star Friday featured future prospects in the Rising Stars event, plus an honest-to-goodness conference game involving Historic Black Colleges and Universities, Hampton and North Carolina A&T. — Jim Alexander, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026

Shifting the center differential between high and low and locking it was done via an honest-to-goodness shifter, too. — Peter Nelson, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026

Rhymes for honest-to-goodness

• goodness