To "make one's bones" is an

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the most widely spoken language in the United States and in most circumstances i ...

idiom meaning to take actions to establish achievement, status, or respect. It is an idiomatic equivalent of "establish ngone's bona fides". Although the idiom appears to have originated in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

criminal underworld Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...

, it has since migrated to more popular and less sinister usage; such as discussions of various professions and occupations including

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules Rule or ruling may refer to: Education ...

personnel, the

legal profession Legal profession is a profession in which legal professionals study, develop and apply law. Usually, there is a requirement for someone choosing a career in law to first obtain a law degree or some other form of legal education. It is difficult to ...

, and

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

In popular culture

The idiom was popularized in the 1969 book ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caa ...

'' and its 1972 movie adaptation, for instance when Sonny says "I 'made my bones' when I was nineteen, the last time the family had a war", and when

Moe Greene Morris "Moe" Greene is a fictional character appearing in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and the 1972 film of the same name. Both Greene's character and personality are based on Bugsy Siegel: his affiliation with the mob in Los Ang ...

says "I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!" Puzo, Mario. ''

''.

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...

, 1969. The term was also used in ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster, portraying his difficulties as he tries to balance ...

'' several times. As in these examples, in organized-crime usage the phrase refers to establishing one's credibility by killing someone.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Made My Bones American slang