Make a clean breast

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Meaning

To confess fully, baring all.

Origin

From 18th-century Britain, tied to 'breast'; heart's seat, slang by 1750s for confess. A 1760 Smollett novel uses it for a spill.

Variants

  • Clean breast

Usage Examples

  • He made a clean breast of his cheating.
  • Make a clean breast; tell the truth.
  • She made a clean breast after years.

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