in the clear
33
4.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
limpio
- The investigation was over, and he was relieved to know he was in the clear.
- think we're in the clear
- now in the clear
- still in the clear
So I was in the clear, but that was that was just weird.
- So I was in the clear, but that was that was just weird.
- We have to know we're legally in the clear.
- So with that in mind, we then had a situation where I'm actually in the clear.
- People reaching out for the spiritual financial experts thought we were in the clear.
Examples
-
Are you sure I'm still in the clear?
-
They think they are now in the clear and decide to head off across the river to Thebes.
-
So, if we make it to day six, we're in the clear.
-
So, am I in the clear?
-
I just want to make sure that I am in the clear and be sure 100%!
Blog text (6) -
How can I make sure I am in the clear before I apply?
Blog text (6) -
I think we're in the clear.
Fiction book (2000) -
For now, I think you're in the clear.
-
So we just gotta fight these guys for an hour and a half, and you're in the clear, okay?
-
I think, if I get this right, we haven't done anything wrong anyway, which means we are in the clear.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
257
3.8
Free from guilt or blame
No longer blamed for a crime or fault
Free from blame or officially declared not guilty
A person who is not involved in illegal or dishonest actions
Antonyms
How Clear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase's meaning 'no longer in trouble or under suspicion' is directly derivable from 'in' (indicating a state) + 'the' (definite article) + 'clear' (meaning free from blame or danger). The compositional pattern 'be in the + adjective' is common in English and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the idiomatic sense.
Etymology
In the clear comes from the simple picture of moving out of fog, smoke, or danger into open, clear space where you can be seen and are safe. So being in the clear now means 'no longer in trouble, danger, or under suspicion'.