come clean, to

come clean

To admit something to someone, often regarding a wrongdoing that one has tried to hide. We have to come clean with the police before Joe gets punished for our crime! The kids finally came clean about eating the cookies I'd made for the bake sale.See also: clean, come

come clean (with someone) (about something)

Fig. to be honest with somebody about something. I want you to come clean with me about your financial status. Sam will come clean with me. I know he will.See also: clean, come

come clean

Confess everything, as in If you come clean about what happened I will promise to keep it to myself. [Slang; early 1900s] See also: clean, come

come clean

COMMON If you come clean about something, you tell the truth about it. I had expected her to come clean and confess that she only wrote these books for the money. It is now time for the Government to come clean, tell the world exactly how the recent tragedy happened and announce an investigation.See also: clean, come

come clean

be completely honest and frank. informalSee also: clean, come

come ˈclean (with somebody) (about something)

(informal) tell the truth about something, especially after lying or keeping it secret: I’ll come clean with you — I’ve been reading your mail. ♢ He finally came clean and confessed.See also: clean, come

come clean

verbSee come clean with someone about somethingSee also: clean, come

come clean

To confess all.See also: clean, come

come clean, to

To tell the whole truth, to confess. A slangy Americanism dating from the early twentieth century, it most often appeared in crime novels and pertained to confessing guilt. Listed in a collection of argot published in 1919, the term became a cliché through its overuse in murder mysteries. P. G. Wodehouse played on it in Sam the Sudden (1925): “You’d best come clean, Soapy, and have a showdown.”See also: come