Definition of: "make a clean breast" with explanation and origin
Definition of: make a clean breast with explanation and origin? Meaning of make a clean breast with examples in English idiom dictionary.
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Definition of: "make a clean breast" with explanation and origin
make a clean breast
make a clean breast
Meaning
- to tell the truth about something.
- speak openly and honestly about something (especially if it was kept a secret or has been lied about in the past).
- admitting and confessing.
- to make a confession or to tell the truth about something you feel guilty about.
Example in Sentences
- Sharon made a clean breast of it and threw Ashley under the bus.
- He finally decided to make a clean breast of it and admitted to robbing the priest.
- After a thorough interrogation, she made a clean breast of it and exposed the real culprit.
- The footballer made a clean breast to his coach on the drug use claims.
- John eventually made a clean breast of it and admitted to copying the assignment.
- Jay had to make a clean breast of his dealings after he was caught with marijuana.
- Harry is yet to make a clean breast and admit that he is involved in fraudulent activities.
- The child wanted to make a clean breast about what he had taken from his mother’s purse.
- I have never been so happy as when I made a clean breast of my wrongdoings and got rid of that dark cloud that was following me for years.
- Many of our clients are professionals and want to make a clean breast before joining our company.
- The therapist asked me to make a clean breast of my problems and get over them once and for all.
- I made a clean breast of my past relationship with that girl and told my parents about it.
- While wedged stealing in a supermarket, Robert decided to make a clean breast of it to the owner of the store.
Origin
The idiom is believed to have been first used in Scotland. It was published in a magazine in 1752 and was used to mean someone confessed to their transgressions.
The phrase comes from the idea that it would be easier for someone to talk about something if they were sincere and without guilt, making it clean. This is closely related to the idea that when people are “honest and open,” they make a clean breast. The idiom refers to a place where things are honest, thus creating an association with the idea of a clear conscience. Because the breast is thought to be a place of secrets, making a clean breast can also mean revealing a secret or something private.
Although the breast, in this case, doesn’t refer to a body part. Rather, it signifies the source of one’s emotions. It’s an expression used to express one’s deepest thoughts.
The Origins of make a clean breast
Secret, TrustEnglish
Related Dictionary
- English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
- English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
- Dictionnaire Français
- Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français
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English Idioms and phrases
An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.
To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).
Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.
