Meaning
Complete nonsense, especially a boast, excuse or claim that deserves no belief. Dated and playful. It is likely to puzzle readers unless the context clearly signals disbelief. Regional use: British English; formerly associated with naval and colloquial speech.
Origin
The shorter dismissal 'all my eye' is documented in a 1763 theatrical parody. Betty Martin was added later: a 1779 newspaper glosses 'My Eye, Betty Martin' as a common phrase, and Samuel Crisp used the full form 'all my eye and Betty Martin' in a 1781 letter, calling it a sea phrase. Betty Martin has not been securely identified. The often-repeated story that the words corrupt a Latin prayer to Saint Martin is a folk etymology, not a demonstrated source.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- All my eye
- My eye and Betty Martin
Usage Examples
- The promised fortune was all my eye and Betty Martin; there was not a penny behind it.
- She dismissed the miraculous advertisement as all my eye and Betty Martin.
- His tale of secret royal orders sounded like all my eye and Betty Martin to the old clerk.