under the rose
- idiom
- Literature
:
bajo la rosa
- All negotiations took place under the rose until an agreement was reached.
Examples
-
The committee discussed the issue under the rose to avoid public attention.
-
Sensitive information was shared under the rose among trusted colleagues only.
-
Please keep it under the rose for now!
-
The meeting was held under the rose.
-
All negotiations took place under the rose until an agreement was reached.
-
Sensitive information was shared under the rose among trusted colleagues only.
-
The committee discussed the issue under the rose to avoid public attention.
Synonyms
261
1.4
In a way that other people do not know
174
3.2
In a way not shared with other people
117
4.9
In a private way, away from the public view
112
4.1
In private and not open to the public
56
2.5
In a way other people do not know
40
9.9
In secret so other people do not know
33
4.3
Happening in private and away from public view
28
6.0
Most people do not know about it
10
4.4
In a private way so no one else knows
9
7.5
Done secretly to hide payments and avoid the law
4
8.0
In a secret way to avoid being seen or found
2
9.5
In secret and not in public
1
9.9
In a secret way to keep something private
1
7.7
In private and away from public attention
1
8.6
In secret and quietly so nobody finds out
Happening secretly to keep it private
Kept secret and not told to other people
Antonyms
How Secret
- Literature
205
5.3
56
2.5
249
2.4
339
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
under + the + rose
The sense 'in secret' cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'under' + 'the' + 'rose' — the image of being physically under a rose does not transparently signal confidentiality. This idiomatic meaning comes from the historical/cultural Latin phrase 'sub rosa' and is not predictable to a B1 learner who only knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Under the rose may come from an old custom where a rose was hung above a meeting table to show the talk must stay secret. People sitting 'under the rose' knew their words would not be told to others, so the phrase now means 'in secret'.