make a clean breast
Often followed by of: to be honest about something; to confess.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“It is time to make a clean breast of your mistake.”
“I feel better now that I make a clean breast of my secret.”
“Why don't you make a clean breast of the situation today?”
“After hiding the truth for weeks, he decided to make a clean breast of his involvement in the accident.”
“You should make a clean breast of your feelings before she moves to another city next month.”
“The athlete decided to make a clean breast of his drug use to protect his teammates from rumors.”
“If we make a clean breast of our errors now, the manager might help us fix the project.”
“The employee finally chose to make a clean breast of the financial discrepancies, hoping that full disclosure would mitigate the inevitable disciplinary consequences.”
The idiom derives from the figurative notion that secrets are lodged within the heart, which is itself contained within the breast. To make a clean breast of a matter is to admit such secrets, thereby rendering the heart clean and pure.
- 01
absence makes the heart grow fonder
One feels more love or affection for those one loves when parted from them.
- 02
cannot make it
Cannot reach satisfactory or expected standards or do something competently; describes someone in a hopeless situation.
- 03
clean as a hound's tooth
Very clean.
- 04
clean as a whistle
Very clean.
- 05
clean break
The complete termination of a relationship, or an exit from a situation.
- 06
clean hands
Freedom from guilt, especially from the guilt of dishonesty in money matters, or of bribe-taking.
- 07
clean money
Money that is legally or honestly gained or earned.
- 08
clean someone's clock
To defeat someone decisively, in a physical fight or other competition or negotiation.
Last updated August 10, 2026