Where does the phrase "to be Frank" come from?

Question

Totally Frank

Answer 1

Frank is being open.Its not a name,silly.

Answer 2

None of these guys really know what they're talking about...
Take it from me...
A long time ago, in a medieval English province there lived a man who was the most honest in the whole kingdom. And while he was born into just a serf's family, he eventually was honored by the king and even the world. You see... as a child, Frank was always, always unnecessarily honest. This alienated some people, and got him some punishments that he probably could have gotten out of, but he continued it so consistently that whenever people needed an honest answer about anything, the would ask Frank.

Eventually, word of Frank's unflinching honesty got to the king, who at the time was in need of a trusted advisor. The king had a comb-over which he wasn't at all sure looked good, but the advisor assured him that he was the most handsome in all the kingdom and that he would likely start a fashion trend of people pulling their hair out, just so they could have a comb-over. Other such incidents like this got the king to wondering if this trusted advisor had sniffed a few to many tinctures in his alchemy lab. So, when the king heard of Frank's reputation he immediately dispatched his messengers to bring forth the Frank.

After a lengthy interview and some skills tests involving jelly beans and leiderhosen, the king finally offered the position to Frank. Frank, however, refused, informing the king that his comb-over was hideous, and that he would likely vomit if he had to see it all day, every day. Well, that infuriated the king, and he had Frank executed. But to this day, people revere Frank, as being a man who was surprisingly open and honest. Some even go so far as to channel the spirit of Frank by saying the words "to be Frank", thus allowing them to be brutally honest and open (hopefully) without fear of repercussion.

As time has continued and the English language has evolved, the use of 'Frankly' and 'totally Frank' came into play. 'Frankly' saw it's first Hollywood appearance in 1939 with the only words that anyone remembers from the movie "Gone with the Wind" Who can forget when Rhett Butler took the beautiful Scarlett O' Hara into his arms and called on the name of Frank? "Frankly, my dear I don't give a damn." Then we have 'totally Frank'. Particuarly in the 80s when everything was totally 'this' or totally 'that', did 'totally Frank' see it's heyday.

So there you have it, the entymology of the colloquialism 'to be Frank'. Current acceptable uses are as follows:
"Frankly, I'm so full of BS, I could sell it by the pound"
or "To be Frank, you should take a lot of what you read here with a grain of salt."
or even "I'm going to be totally Frank. This place is totally loaded with, like, some of the most bull crap answers"

So, next time you use the name of Frank, think back to the man, the myth, the legend. The Frank.

Answer 3

Let me be frank is the phrase, not Frank. It is the same thing as saying "let me be totally honest without regard to politeness."

Frank is a name. Don't confuse with the word frank.

Answer 4

It's not to be Frank. Which implies it's a proper name or person. It's to be frank (lowercase f).

frank1 Audio pronunciation of "frank" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (frngk)
adj. frank·er, frank·est

1. Open and sincere in expression; straightforward: made several frank remarks about the quality of their work.
2. Clearly manifest; evident: frank enjoyment.

There's no hidden meaning. It is what it is.

Answer 5

From Middle English meaning free

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/frank

Answer 6

To Frank something means you are confirming it as real-hence the phrase.ktf.x

Answer 7

I have often been asked to be "Frank" which is rather odd since my name is Allan. Other people have said to me "Shirley you jest" to which I replied "No, and don't call me Shirley!"
By the way God's name is really Howard, as in "Our Father who art in heaven, Howard be thy name." (From the book" The Plain Truth About God-101 (what the church doesn't want you to know!)"
Just so YOU know.

Answer 8

it came from Frank who just wanted to be himself until he discovered he had a mutiple personality disorder and he was really Bill, Jemima and the cast from Dallas rolled into one. poor guy.

Answer 9

Eastenders

Answer 10

Spoken by people who tell lies.

Why else would they have to tell you they are "being frank". What are they being otherwise?