to come clean
92
4.1
- phrasal verb
- /kʌm klin/
- Informal
:
confesar
- After holding back for weeks, I finally decided to come clean and confess to my mistakes.
And I've had it with pumps not coming clean and just admitting to being a lesbian.
- And I've had it with pumps not coming clean and just admitting to being a lesbian.
- Hey, but let's boycott the Olympics until China comes clean about the Wuhan virus here.
- A narcissistic person will only come clean if their back is against the wall.
- Shannon and I came clean before I married her.
- But the point is, they would not come clean.
- So anyway, Jeremy, I'm sorry, but thank you for coming clean.
- Maybe there's just that hope that they'll come clean.
- I'm guilty of this one repeatedly, so I'm going to come clean on why I do it.
- If you're going to keep buying into it, he has no reason to come clean and be honest.
- Well, and honestly, you know, you could say, oh, in a perfect world, you could come clean right away.
- So those are just all the factors, you know, that were I was afraid to, to come clean about.
- I just wanted to kind of come clean, set it straight when it comes to the smartphone universe.
- And we need the government to come clean about protecting pedophiles and why they protect pedophiles.
Examples
-
Jim, we may need you to come clean about the relationship with Billy.
-
So yeah, I've come clean and I feel better for it.
-
Now it's time to come clean about the back story.
-
It's crazy, but I wanted to come clean about something today.
-
So as a result, when you do come clean on what you did to them, you own it.
-
When asked who it's about, Sir Paul came clean and said, well, I mean, obviously it's about Trump.
-
I came clean to him a few months into seeing him.
-
So then let's come clean.
-
You better come clean, Beth.
-
Okay, Andy, why didn't you just come clean with me?
Synonyms
∞
2.3
Show something that was hidden or secret
576
3.0
To say you did something wrong or illegal
342
4.1
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
234
4.1
To tell people information that was secret
114
3.4
Tell a secret on purpose or by accident
48
3.2
To say something that is true even if it is surprising
47
5.6
Say all private things about a person or event
45
6.2
To tell secret or private information to people
43
6.0
To tell a secret or show feelings you were trying to hide
38
4.4
Admit that you did something wrong or made a mistake
33
4.2
To say you did something wrong or embarrassing
32
3.7
Tell secret or private information to other people
28
8.0
To say you did something wrong, often after being asked
20
3.7
To show facts that were hidden before
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
4
7.1
To reveal information that was previously hidden
2
5.5
To show something hidden so people can see it
1
7.5
To tell everything about yourself, including private things
1
7.5
To tell the whole truth about something wrong you did
Antonyms
How Honest
576
3.0
- Informal
92
4.1
∞
2.0
- Informal
38
4.4
- Informal
28
8.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The idiom maps onto a metaphorical concept of "becoming clean" morally — i.e. arriving at a state free of guilt by confessing — so its meaning is partially inferable from 'come' (arrive) + 'clean' (free of stain). However, the shift from physical cleanliness to admitting guilt is metaphorical and not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so it is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Come clean may come from the simple image of washing away dirt, where someone would come into a state of being clean and fresh. That's why to come clean means 'to confess' or 'to tell the truth', like washing away guilt.