- To confess or reveal the truth about something that has been kept secret, hidden, or denied, especially something wrong, embarrassing, or dishonest.
- Often implies revealing the full story or all the relevant hidden facts.
Explanation
Origin
- Figurative language. 'Clean' symbolizes honesty, purity, and openness.
- To 'come clean' means to emerge from a state of secrecy, deceit, or denial ('dirtiness') into a state of truthfulness ('cleanness'), effectively washing away the hidden wrongdoing by revealing it.
- Appears to have gained currency in the early 20th century.
Synonyms & Related Expressions
Alternatives
Slang/Informal:
- Spill it / Spill the tea (Reveal gossip or truth, 'tea' is slang for gossip/truth)
- Lay it all out
- Tell the real story / Gimme the real story
- Get it off your chest
- Keep it real (Be honest)
Vulgar/Emphatic (Demanding the truth forcefully):
- Tell the fucking truth!
- Stop lying and come clean, asshole!
- Cut the bullshit and tell me what happened.
Milder/Formal:
- Be truthful / Be honest
- Disclose the full information
- Confess / Make a full confession
- Provide a truthful account
- Set the record straight
Situational Appropriateness
- Can range from informal (e.g., friends urging honesty about a relationship issue) to semi-formal or even formal (e.g., in legal or investigative contexts, public apologies).
- Generally carries a more serious connotation than 'fess up', often implying a more significant secret or wrongdoing.
Misunderstanding Warnings
- Generally clear.
- The implication is usually about admitting something significant that was previously hidden or denied, not just sharing any random piece of information.
Examples
- After weeks of lying, he finally came clean to his wife about losing his job.
- The politician had to come clean about the secret donations when the emails were leaked.
- If you cheated on the test, it's better to come clean to the teacher now.
Dialogue
Detective: We have evidence placing you at the scene, Mr. Jones. Your initial story doesn't hold up. It's time to come clean.
Suspect: (Sighs heavily) Alright... alright. It wasn't supposed to happen like that. Let me tell you what really went down.
Detective: Start from the beginning.
Social Media Examples
- News Headline Example: CEO Forced to Come Clean About Misleading Sales Figures.
- Relationship Advice Blog Post: Is it time to come clean to your partner about your debt? Experts weigh in.
- Tweet: Feeling guilty about something I did. Maybe it's time to just come clean and face the music. #honesty #confession
Response Patterns
- If someone is urged to 'come clean': They might confess, continue to deny, deflect, or become defensive.
- If someone *has* 'come clean': Responses depend heavily on the nature of the revelation and the relationship – relief, anger, disappointment, understanding, questioning, discussion of consequences.
Common Follow-up Questions/Actions
- After someone 'comes clean', listeners often ask follow-up questions for more details (How long has this been going on?, Why didn't you tell me sooner?).
- If encouraging someone, one might add persuasive statements like You'll feel better if you just come clean, or The truth always comes out eventually.
Conversation Starter
- No. Used when demanding or encouraging honesty about a specific hidden truth or wrongdoing.
Intonation
- Often used when encouraging or demanding confession, so the tone can be serious, persuasive, or insistent.
- Stress typically on come and clean: COME CLEAN.
- When describing someone *having* come clean, the tone might be neutral or relieved.
Generation Differences
- Widely understood and used across generations. Standard idiom.
Regional Variations
- Common in all major English-speaking regions.