Tell Us How You Really Feel, Barking Up The Wrong Tree

Tell Us How You Really Feel
The expression "tell us how you really feel" is said in sarcasm and irony after someone has said an anger or hate-filled statement, drawing attention to the anger and hatred (and implicitly mocking it).

Example: I was reminded earlier that on the American television show "The View," a guest made a statement about Nevada senate candidate Sharon Angle, calling her a "bitch" and concluding that "she's going to hell, this bitch." As these words were recited to me (I had earlier read them at the link here), I expressed, "Tell us how you really feel!". This is a popular culture way of expressing, wow, if that's what Joy Behar will tell us on network television, what would she say in private?...
Of course, this statement is likely exactly how Joy Behar actually feels. My reply was sarcastic and full of irony that Joy Behar would actually say it on television. No surprise at all that certain people feel that way about a female conservative politician opposing a linchpin of the Democratic Party in Congress during a very heated election battle.


Barking Up The Wrong Tree

When a dog being used to hunt raccoons, a dog will bark up at a tree ("up a tree") to indicate that a raccoon is within the tree's branches.

If a dog is barking up the wrong tree, the dog is making a serious mistake.

Example: Lisa: "Dave, I thought I saw you in the lounge earlier. When I went into the lounge afterwards, there was coffee spilled all over the table." Dave: "It wasn't me! You're barking up the wrong tree. I was having a sandwich at my desk while I was working on the September report. You must've mistaken me for someone else."


➤ Read more idioms and phrases, English grammar and vocabulary at Basic English Grammar And Vocabulary .