all my eye and betty martin

Questions

How do you pronounce all my eye and betty martin?

The recorded pronunciation is /ɔːl maɪ ˈaɪ ən(d)ˌbɛtɪ ˈmɑːtɪn/.

What does all my eye and betty martin mean?

rubbish, humbug

Where does all my eye and betty martin come from?

In Britain during the 1700s, the phrase was a common claim of dismissal (similar to 'nonsense', or 'hogwash'), or a way to declare disbelief of an absurdity. It possibly originated as the punch line of a joke (though this is likely a folk etymology). Most variations of the joke involve a British sailor visiting Italy. He overhears a Latin prayer, "Ah! [Da] mihi, beate Martine" (which translates to "Ah! Grant to me, blessed Martin", referring to St. Martin). The sailor mishears the prayer, and later uses the phrase as "All my eye and Betty Martin".

How to pronounce all my eye and betty martin

1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “all my eye and betty martin”.
2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ɔːl maɪ ˈaɪ ən(d)ˌbɛtɪ ˈmɑːtɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “all my eye and betty martin”.
4. Repeat and practice — Say “all my eye and betty martin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.