Murder will out

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Meaning

A murder or other grave wrongdoing will eventually be discovered. Archaic in casual speech. It may be extended to concealed wrongdoing that is not literally murder. Regional use: Middle English literary proverb; now chiefly literary.

Origin

Chaucer repeats Mordre wol out in both the Nun's Priest's Tale and the Prioress's Tale in the late fourteenth century. In context, hidden killing is so abhorrent that it cannot remain concealed. The spelling has changed, but the syntax and meaning are essentially modern. Later usage sometimes broadens murder to mean that any serious secret or wrongdoing will reveal itself.

Research Sources

  1. Harvard Chaucer: The Nun's Priest's Prologue, Tale, and Epilogue Harvard University
  2. Cambridge University Press: Mordre Wol Out - Murder and Justice in Chaucer Cambridge University Press
  3. Harvard Chaucer: The Prioress' Prologue and Tale Harvard University

Variants

  • Mordre wol out

Usage Examples

  • The new evidence arrived after twenty years: murder will out.
  • She trusted that murder would out once the missing ledger was found.
  • In the detective's view, murder will out because every culprit leaves a trace.

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