make a clean breast
verb/ˈmeɪk ə ˈkliːn bɹɛst/UK/ˈmeɪk ə ˈklin bɹɛst/US
Etymology
From the notion that secrets are figuratively hidden in the heart which is contained in the breast (“chest”), and that admitting them will cause the heart to become clean and pure.
Definitions
Often followed by of
Often followed by of: to be honest about something; to confess.
- He preſſed him earneſtly to make a clean breaſt, and tell him all he knew of [Colin Roy Campbell of] Glenure's murder. To which Breck [i.e., Alan Breck Stewart] anſwered with an oath, that he had never ſeen Glenure dead or alive.
- 'It is well, then, that we should be frank,' said the other. 'We both think more than we have said; let us make a clean breast. This masked figure that you saw, did you recognise it?'
The neighborhood
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for make a clean breast. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA