Secrecy, Obviousness, Revealing Secrets and 3 More Topics · English Idioms: Truth Secrecy

someone who watches or listens to everything that is happening without anyone noticing their presence

"I wish I was a fly on the wall."

"I would love to be a fly on the wall during the meeting between the two famous actors who hate each other."

to have control over a person or thing, often in way that is not obvious

"She likes to pull the strings."

"The wealthy businessman was secretly pulling the strings behind every major decision in the government."

in a way that goes unnoticed or avoids attracting any attention

"He tries to stay under the radar."

"The small band stayed under the radar for years before suddenly becoming famous all over the world."

in a place where other people cannot see or know about

"The meeting happened behind closed doors."

"The committee made the controversial decision behind closed doors without any public discussion or input from the community."

in a secretive way so that the general public is unaware of what is happening

"The volunteers work behind the scenes."

"The volunteers worked behind the scenes to organise the charity event while the celebrities took all the credit for it."

a list with contact information of people whom one secretly communicates with

"The spy had a little black book."

"The spy had a little black book containing the names of all his contacts and agents."

used to refer to a situation where two or more people, organizations, etc. are secretly collaborating with each other to do something dishonest or illegal

"The two thieves are in cahoots."

"The security guard was in cahoots with the thieves and let them into the building to steal the valuable paintings."

to secretly or dishonestly intend to achieve wealth, power, etc.

"He has designs on my fortune."

"The greedy businessman has designs on the small family farm and has been trying to buy it for a very low price."

to secretly take pleasure in something or find it amusing, particularly someone else's problems and misfortunes

"She was laughing up her sleeve."

"The salesman laughed up his sleeve when the customer paid twice the actual value for the cheap watch."

used to refer to something that happens unexpectedly and without warning or detection

"He left like a thief in the night."

"The disease took her life like a thief in the night without giving her or her family any warning at all."

to remain silent instead of expressing one's disapproval or distress

"I had to groan inwardly."

"When my boss announced another weekend shift, I had to groan inwardly because I had already made important plans."

secretly making plans with another individual or group

"He is in league with the devil."

"The corrupt official was in league with the construction companies and accepted bribes to approve their unsafe buildings."

used to refer to something that is done in a quiet or discreet manner

"Keep this on the q.t."

"The two managers met on the q.t. to discuss the merger without telling any of the employees about their plans."

in a manner that is inclined to conceal a person's actual feelings and intentions

"He eats snacks on the sly."

"The teenager had been smoking cigarettes on the sly for months before his parents finally found out about it."

in a manner that is done secretly or subtly, often to achieve a desired result without drawing much attention

"He got the job through the back door."

"The new manager got the job through the back door because his uncle is the owner of the company."

a coded message intended to be understood by a particular group while remaining unnoticed or ambiguous to others

"The politician used a dog whistle phrase to appeal to some voters."

"His speech contained a dog whistle that only certain groups could understand."

at a time when everyone can witness something

"It happened in broad daylight."

"The thief stole the bicycle in broad daylight without caring that many people were watching him from the windows."

clearly and without causing any confusion

"Message was loud clear."

"The instructions for the new software were explained loud and clear, leaving no room for any misunderstanding."

in a way that can obviously be seen or easily understood

"It is clear as day."

"The answer was as clear as day, so everyone understood the situation immediately."

written or stated simply and clearly

"Tell me in plain English."

"The lawyer explained the contract in plain English so that his client could understand every single word without any confusion."

in a way that is easy to notice or recognize someone or something

"He stood out mile."

"Her bright pink hat made her stand out a mile away in the crowd of people wearing neutral colors."

used when something is either obvious or within one's field of vision but one does not notice it

"The keys were right under my nose."

"The missing keys were right under my nose on the kitchen table the whole time I was searching."

to be noticeably different from other people or things, often in a way that is unpleasant or embarrassing

"He stuck out badly."

"Wearing his formal suit to the casual beach party, he stuck out like a sore thumb among everyone else."

not difficult at all to understand or see

"It is plain as a pikestaff."

"His intentions were as plain as a pikestaff, and nobody could misunderstand them."

really easy to understand or notice

"It is plain as day."

"The answer was as plain as the nose on your face, but nobody in the room could see it."

to be extremely easy to notice

"It stood out mile."

"The error in the calculation was so obvious that it was easy to spot and stood out a mile from the rest of the numbers."

in a way that everyone can see or know about what is happening

"He showed his anger for all to see."

"The celebrity couple argued in public for all the world to see and the paparazzi took many photographs of the fight."

to state that something is logical or reasonable based on the available evidence or common sense

"It stands to reason that he is tired."

"It stands to reason that if you do not study for the exam you will not get a good grade on it."

used to refer to something that is poorly hidden

"His comment was a thinly veiled threat."

"His comment was a thinly veiled criticism of the manager who was standing only a few feet away from him."

to demonstrate a particular fact or characteristic in a very clear way

"Failure had it written."

"Given his constant complaining and negative attitude, the failure of the project had his involvement written all over it."

(a person's emotions or thoughts) clearly visible through their facial expression, body language, or behavior

"The guilt was written all over her face."

"The guilt was written all over his face when the teacher asked who had broken the window in the classroom."

something that was supposed to be kept from others but is not anymore

"The affair was an open secret."

"The affair was an open secret and everyone knew about it but no one spoke openly."

expressed or explained very easily and clearly

"His explanation was crystal clear."

"The professor's explanation of the complex theory was crystal clear to all the students."

to reveal information that were supposed to be kept secret, often by accident

"I accidentally let the cat out of the bag."

"He let the cat out of the bag when he accidentally mentioned the surprise party to the birthday girl."

to reveal a secret that one was asked not to tell anyone

"Don't spill the beans now!"

"My little brother accidentally spilled the beans about the surprise party we had planned."

used of a secret that is now shared with others

"The secret is finally out in the open."

"After years of hiding their relationship, they finally decided to bring everything out in the open."

to reveal a person's identity or intentions

"He blew his cover by accident."

"The undercover detective accidentally blew his cover when his old friend recognized him at the crowded market."

to see or arrest a person while they are doing something illegal or wrong

"The police caught him in the act."

"The security guard caught the thief in the act of stealing the jewels."

to arrest or see someone the moment they are doing something that is illegal or dishonest

"The police caught the thief red-handed."

"The police caught the thief red-handed as he was climbing out of the broken window with the stolen jewellery."

to no longer keep one's sexual preference or gender identity a secret

"He came out of the closet."

"My best friend finally came out of the closet and told his family he was gay."

to reveal something that one was supposed to keep as a secret or surprise

"He gave the game away quickly."

"Don't give the game away; we want the surprise party to remain a secret."

to cause the truth become revealed, especially an unpleasant one

"They lifted the lid on corruption."

"The documentary will lift the lid on the scandal."

to tell others about what has happened to someone, especially about things that are private or controversial, in the person's absence

"She loves to spill the tea."

"She loves to spill the tea about celebrity gossip during our coffee breaks."

to become existent or be born

"The project finally saw the light."

"After years of development and testing, the revolutionary new vaccine finally saw the light of day."

to challenge a person to carry out their seemingly fake threats or claims in order to expose them

"I decided to call his bluff."

"I decided to call his bluff when he threatened to quit if he didn't get a promotion."

used of a secret that is now shared with others

"It is out in the open."

"After years of secrecy, the truth about their affair finally came out in the open for everyone to see."

to publicly talk about something such as a belief that one used to keep secret

"She came out of the closet."

"He decided to come out of the closet and publicly advocate for LGBTQ+ rights after years of remaining silent."

to be made known publicly

"It will see the light."

"We are hopeful that the long-delayed report will finally see the light of day before the end of the fiscal year."

a report of something with complete or exact details

"He could quote the rules chapter and verse."

"She explained the historical event chapter and verse for the class."

full and exact information about something

"Let's look at the facts and figures."

"We need all the facts and figures before making a decision."

used for saying that a person or thing has more of a specific quality than it seems

"There is more than meets the eye here."

"This quiet town has more than meets the eye; it's full of hidden history."

a person or thing that looks nice or pleasant but turns out to be very unpleasant or troublesome

"He is a nightmare dressed like a daydream."

"That job offer seemed perfect, but it turned out to be a nightmare dressed like a daydream."

a facial expression that does not reveal a person's feelings or thoughts

"He kept his poker face."

"He kept a perfect poker face even though he held the winning hand in the tournament."

used to state that something appears to be true or appealing at first glance

"On the face of it, it's simple."

"On the face of it, the proposal seemed like a good idea, but closer inspection revealed flaws."

to fail to deal with all aspects of a problem, topic, etc.

"We only scratched the surface of the problem."

"We have only scratched the surface of this topic there is so much more to learn about it."

a situation or event that seems problematic or unfortunate at first but later results in something positive and pleasant

"Losing that job was a blessing in disguise."

"Losing that job was a blessing in disguise because it pushed me to start my own successful business."

a general analysis of something

"From the tower, we had a bird's eye view."

"The report provided a bird's eye view of the market trends."

to understand something from a general perspective without getting too involved in details

"He can't see the forest for the trees."

"Try to see the forest for the trees and focus on the main goal."

used in a situation where details need to be closely inspecterd or paid attention to

"The plan looks fine, but the devil is in the details."

"We must be careful; the devil is in the details of this plan."

to make sure no detail goes unnoticed in compeleting a task

"The contract is ready, we just need to dot the i's and cross the t's."

"Please dot the i's and cross the t's on this report before submitting it."

an individual who posesses great influence over someone who is officially in charge

"His advisor is the power behind the throne."

"The queen's mother was the true power behind the throne for many years."

used to say that something is discussed in a general or basic way, without going into too much detail or specific information

"She described the plan in broad strokes."

"He explained the project in broad strokes, so we understood the main idea."

used to imply a very careful and thorough examination of something, often with great attention to detail and a focus on finding even the smallest flaws or errors

"The police searched the room with a fine-tooth comb."

"We need to go through the budget with a fine-tooth comb to find savings."

used to refer to a person's true feelings or beliefs that they may not openly show

"Deep down, she is a kind person."

"Deep down he knows that he made the wrong decision but he is too proud to admit it."

the overall view or perspective of a situation, rather than focusing on small details

"You need to look at the bigger picture."

"You need to look at the bigger picture instead of focusing on small mistakes and problems."

used to suggest that a situation or story is more complicated or interesting than what has been revealed or discussed so far

"You don't know the half of it."

"She told us part of the story, but that's not the half of it."

to behave in a way that reveals who a person truly is as opposed to whom they seem to be

"He showed his true colors."

"When the company faced financial difficulties, the manager showed his true colors by blaming everyone else for his own mistakes."

to honestly share one's thoughts, feelings, or plans

"Let's put our cards on the table."

"After months of negotiation, they finally decided to lay their cards on the table."

truthfully and without any deception

"Is he on the level?"

"I think our new accountant is on the level but we should still check his credentials carefully."

to swear that one is telling the truth about something or is going to do something as promised

"Cross my heart, I am telling the truth."

"I promise I will be there on time cross my heart and hope to die."

to make a confession about what one has done wrong or lied about, especially to gain relief

"He made a clean breast of his mistake."

"The criminal finally made a clean breast of everything and confessed to all the crimes he had committed."

to finally reveal or admit the truth about something

"You need to come clean."

"The guilty employee finally decided to come clean and admitted to stealing money from the company cash box."

to make known an unpleasant truth about something

"They blew the lid off the scandal."

"The investigative journalist managed to blow the lid off the government corruption scandal with her brave reporting."

a conversation with children about disturbing topics like where babies come from or what is the goal of marriage are being discussed

"My dad told me about the birds and the bees."

"The father had an awkward conversation with his son about the birds and the bees when he turned twelve years old."

an unpleasant, yet truthful information someone reveals or points out about one

"She told him a few home truths."

"His friend told him a few home truths about his arrogant behavior and drinking problem."

to eventually resolve without intervention, typically after a period of time

"Don't worry, it will come out in the wash."

"All these minor problems will eventually come out in the wash if we just remain patient."

in a way that involves no deception or rule violations

"This is on the up and up."

"You can trust him; his business dealings are always completely on the up and up."

(of a hidden fact) to be eventually revealed or discovered

"It will come out in the wash."

"Don't worry too much about minor discrepancies; most of these issues will likely come out in the wash during the final audit."

to treat someone in authority with high respect, particularly in order to get their approval

"They bow and scrape."

"The junior employees would bow and scrape to the boss to gain his favor and promotion."

to try to get something from a person by showing insincere kindness to them

"He is always kissing the boss's ass."

"The intern kisses his boss's ass constantly hoping to get a promotion without having to work hard."

to get people to praise one, often by pretending not to be happy with oneself

"Stop fishing for compliments."

"She always fishes for compliments by saying she looks tired, hoping someone will disagree."

used to describe someone who never puts their word into action

"He is all mouth."

"My neighbor is all mouth and no trousers; he always talks big but never follows through."

to try to please or get closer to someone for one's personal gain

"I will not lick your boots."

"The desperate job seeker was willing to lick the manager's boots just to get hired by the company."