Make one's bones

To "make one's bones" is an American English idiom meaning to take actions to establish achievement, status, or respect.^[1] It is an idiomatic equivalent of "establish[ing] one's bona fides".^[2]

Although the idiom appears to have originated in the United States criminal underworld,^[2][3] it has since migrated to more popular and less sinister usage;^[4][5][6][7] such as discussions of various professions and occupations including law enforcement personnel,^[8] the legal profession,^[9][10] and journalists.^[11]

In popular culture

The idiom was popularized in the 1969 book The Godfather 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 says "I'm Moe Greene! I made my bones when you were going out with cheerleaders!"^[12] The term was also used in The Sopranos several times. As in these examples, in organized-crime usage the phrase refers to establishing one's credibility by killing someone.^[2]