to name names
14
7.7
- phrasal verb
:
dar nombres
- I didn't name names before a senate committee.
- want to name names
- declines to name names
- name names, she said
I'm not going to name names, but they exist quite a few.
- I'm not going to name names, but they exist quite a few.
- Why don't we start to name names, put blame?
- But we'll just not name names, right?
- And I'm not naming names, but Mayans, dude.
- Oh, very nice of you not to name names, but I really want to see this now.
- And one of the biggest of these is that Hegel typically doesn't name names.
- There are some not naming names who say I'm a real transsexual.
Examples
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It's not necessary to name names; you know who they are.
Blog text (23) -
What if I named names?
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But we'll just not name names, right?
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Oh, very nice of you not to name names, but I really want to see this now.
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I refused to name names and I...
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He'll name names if you grant him immunity on the murder charge.
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Now I'm not gonna name names without an attorney present.
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Why don't we start to name names, put blame?
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In 1957, HUAC asked him to testify and name names.
Fiction book (2002) -
During the meeting, she decided to name names to clarify the issues at hand.
Synonyms
974
1.0
To say the word that identifies a person or thing
1
6.3
Publicly say which people or groups did something wrong so others will say bad things about them
Antonyms
How Specific
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to reveal or identify specific individuals' is directly derivable from the verb 'name' (to state someone) combined with the noun 'names' (identities) — essentially 'to give names' or 'identify people.' Although somewhat colloquial, the phrase follows straightforward compositional logic and a B1 learner who knows the constituents should be able to infer this meaning.
Etymology
Name names comes from the literal act of saying people's names in a police investigation or hearing, when a witness lists who was there. That's why it means 'to reveal who is involved'.