1
general::
Phrase(s): speak for someone or something
1. to testify or argue for someone or something. • I would be happy to speak for you in court. Just tell me when. • My attorney will speak for our position. 2. to lay claim to someone or something. • Fred is spoken for. • I want to speak for the red one., Phrase(s): speak for oneself
to speak on one’s own behalf. • I can speak for myself. I don’t need you to speak for me. • Speak for yourself. What you say does not represent my thinking.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
1. Intercede for, recommend, as in He spoke for the young applicant, commending her honesty. [c. 1300] 2. Express the views of, as in I can't speak for my husband but I'd love to accept, or I don't care what Harry thinks? Speak for yourself, Joe. [c. 1300] 3. speak for itself. Be significant or self-evident, as in They haven't called us in months, and that speaks for itself. [Second half of 1700s] 4. spoken for. Ordered, engaged, or reserved, as in This lot of rugs is already spoken for, or Is this dance spoken for? This usage comes from the older verb, bespeak, meaning "to order." [Late 1600s]
American Heritage Idioms