warts and all, phr. — Green’s Dictionary of Slang

warts and all phr.

[the story of Oliver Cromwell (1599–1658) ordering the painter Sir Peter Lely (1618–1680) to ‘use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughnesses, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it’ (1753, H. Walpole, Anecdotes of Painting in England)]

1. not excluding any deficiencies or negative characteristics.

1917		Boy’s Own Paper XL:1 41: Cromwell, plain as one of his own pike-staffs, and depicted ‘wart and all.’.
1930		W.S. Maugham Cakes and Ale 138: Don’t you think it would be more interesting if you went the whole hog and drew him warts and all?
1976		N. Thornburg Cutter and Bone (2001) 6: The two of them sitting here warts and all in the crummy motel room.
1980		M. Bail Homesickness (1999) 127: You know all about each other now, warts and all.
1988		R. Doyle Commitments 122: I hate him! ( – Oh fuck! said Jimmy.) Warts and all.
1999		Indep. on Sun. Culture 11 July 4: ‘I wanted to do it for the girls,’ she says. ‘Warts and all.’.

2. attrib. use of sense 1.

1999		Guardian Guide 20–26 Nov. 20: He is now committed to a ‘warts and all’ approach.
2000		Guardian Guide 22–28 Jan. 6: These rock stars appear to be so willing to subject themselves to this kind of warts-and-all confession.
2002		Guardian Media 7 Jan. 8: It resembled a real warts-and-all group rather than a squeaky-clean sanitised TV family.