speak for oneself
The phrase "speak for oneself" is often used to emphasize that the opinions or actions mentioned are personal and not representative of others.
Definition
B2General Communication
(informal, idiomatic)To express one's own opinions or feelings, rather than those of others.
Example
- I think the movie was great, but I can only speak for myself.
B2Disagreement
(imperative, idiomatic)Used to express disagreement with another's opinion, implying the statement may be true for the other person but not for the speaker.
Example
- Speak for yourself! I don't agree with that at all.
C1Self-Evidence
(idiomatic)To indicate that one's actions or achievements are so evident that they require no further explanation.
Example
- Her dedication and hard work speak for themselves.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "speak for oneself":
speak forbe oneselfspeak upby oneselfon one's own accounthandle oneselfhave a mind of one's owncarry oneselfhelp oneselfspeak tokeep to oneselfspeak volumesto each his own