open secret
6
4.0
- noun
- /ˈoʊpən ˈsiːkrɪt/
- Informal
:
secreto a voces
- Despite pretending to be unaware, it was an open secret that she was the favorite for the promotion.
- long been an open secret
Examples
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It's an open secret that a silent coup has taken place in our country.
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It's an open secret you're at war with your firm's leadership.
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Even though his was an open secret, he still had to keep it.
Blog text (28) -
The answer, once again, is an open secret.
Academic text (2015) -
His longtime interest in the post of Prime Minister was an open secret.
Academic text (1994) -
And it is an open secret that "the best" colleges require the least work.
Blog text (19) -
Zimmerman was told that the problem had existed for some time and was an open secret in the hospital.
Academic text (2003) -
Before the earthquake, corruption in the country's construction industry was an open secret.
Academic text (2011) -
It's been an open secret for a while that Google AdWords ran on MySQL.
Blog text (8) -
Ankara's quiet support for any jihadist, ISIS or otherwise, has long been an open secret.
Academic text (2015)
Synonyms
2
3.4
A fact many people know although others try to keep it hidden
Antonyms
How Secret
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning follows directly from combining 'open' (not hidden/candid) with 'secret' (hidden information): the modifier 'open' signals that the secret is effectively exposed or public, producing a paradoxical but predictable sense. This compositional, contradictory logic is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The noun open secret comes from the simple picture of a secret whose door is left open, so many people can see it. That's why it means 'something meant to be hidden but actually widely known'.