Word.ws English Dictionary

not have the first idea

not have the first idea verb: to not know anything about something.

Verb

not have the first idea

  1. To not know anything about something.
    • For all her experience, she didn't have the first idea what it was like to have the disease.2005, Simon Riley, Beating Cancer. A Miracle on the NHS, →ISBN, page 189
    • Reading them was another; and when it came to taking thoughts in his head and writing them on to paper, he didn't have the first idea where to start.2010, Stephen Deas, The Thief-Taker's Apprentice, →ISBN
    Synonyms:
    not know the first thing, not have the faintest idea

Synonyms of not have the first idea

Questions about not have the first idea

What does not have the first idea mean?
Not have the first idea means to not know anything about something.
What part of speech is not have the first idea?
Not have the first idea is a verb.

Words near not have the first idea in the dictionary

  1. not have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out of
  2. not have a prayer
  3. not have both oars in the water
  4. not have the faintest
  5. not have the faintest idea
  6. not have the first idea
  7. not here for a haircut
  8. not here to fuck spiders
  9. not hit a cow's arse with a banjo
  10. not if I see you first
  11. not if, but when

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: not have the first idea (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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