Phrase guide

nothing to write home about

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Not exceptional; not noteworthy or especially good.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, not-comparable

Examples

  • The vegetables were okay, but the soup was nothing to write home about.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: comme ci comme ça, no great shakes, not worth writing home about, average, crappy, decent, indifferent, lackluster, meh, mediocre, mid, middling, nothing to write home about, OK, okayish, ordinary, pedestrian, unexceptional, uninspiring, shitty, so-so, tolerable, whatever

Antonyms: something to write home about

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: niets om over naar huis te schrijven — not exceptional
  • Finnish: ei kovin kaksinen — not exceptional
  • French: ce n'est pas le Pérou — not exceptional
  • French: ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard — not exceptional
  • German: damit kann man keinen Hund hinter dem Ofen hervorlocken — not exceptional
  • Irish: cuibheasach gan a bheith maíteach — not exceptional
  • Polish: nic specjalnego — not exceptional
  • Polish: szału nie ma — not exceptional
  • Russian: не о чём да́же рассказа́ть (ne o čom dáže rasskazátʹ) — not exceptional
  • Spanish: nada del otro mundo — not exceptional
  • Spanish: nada para tirar cohetes — not exceptional
  • Spanish: nada que destacar — not exceptional
  • Spanish: nada espectacular — not exceptional
  • Swedish: inget att hänga i julgranen — not exceptional
  • Swedish: inget vidare — not exceptional