Meaning of make one's bones | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To commit a murder in order to be respected in a criminal gang.
2. To establish one's bona fides; to establish status and respect.
   broadly

Equivalents

Examples

“Mario Cacciatore was fourteen when he made his bones.”

“Politicians—good ones, at least—make their bones by knowing which way the wind is blowing.”

“Wearing, Brown and Hume all made their bones in an era when contemporary art fought for attention and had to insist it mattered – when in Britain, at least, it seemed cutting edge to like it at all.”

CEFR level