Meaning of Idiom ‘Come Clean’
1. To come clean means to tell the complete truth, especially about something one has previously lied about or tried to hid; to confess everything, especially a wrongdoing; to be completely honest; to stop keeping a secret or hiding something.
2. In regards to cleaning or washing that is very soiled or stained and difficult to clean, to come clean means to have hard-to-remove soiling or stains come out in the wash; to be able to get something very dirty clean.
Sentence Examples
“The best thing to do is to come clean and tell the police the truth.”
“It’s time you come clean. You’ve been keeping this secret for years.”
“Listen, I’m going to come clean. Sarah and I have been dating. I didn’t want you to be angry since you only broke up with her a month ago.”
“He came clean to his wife about his gambling problem.”
“There’s paint all over this shirt. It will never come clean.”
“I was able to get your shirt to come clean. I had to use bleach and wash it twice.
Origin
Originally a slang expression, used since the early 1900s, come clean most often appeared in crime novels in regards to confessing guilt. An example is P.G. Wodehouse’s novel Sam the Sudden (1925): “You’d best come clean, Soapy, and have a showdown.”
