come clean

come clean — 慣用語

1. to finally admit something you did wrong or kept secret, telling someone the ful

1.慣用語B2
釋義

坦白；招認

終於說出隱瞞的真相

to finally admit something you did wrong or kept secret, telling someone the full truth after hiding it

例句

Mia finally came clean about the broken vase when her mother found the pieces under the sofa.

Mia 終於坦白打破花瓶的事，因為她媽媽在沙發底下找到了碎片。

come clean + about + [noun phrase]

After weeks of lies, Diego came clean to his boss about losing the company's client records.

說了幾週的謊話後，Diego 終於向主管坦承弄丟了公司的客戶資料。

同義詞
  • confess

    more formal; often used in legal or religious contexts

  • fess up

    even more informal than 'come clean'; common in American English

  • own up

    suggests taking responsibility rather than just revealing a secret

反義詞
  • cover up

    to hide the truth instead of revealing it

  • lie

    to say something that is not true, the opposite of confessing

文法句型

come clean + about + [noun / gerund]

come clean + to + [person]

come clean + (no object)

用法筆記

Common in everyday conversation and journalism. Frequently followed by 'about' (the secret) and/or 'to' (the person being told). Often used when the admission happens after a period of avoidance or deception.

常見錯誤

❌He came clean the money.
✅He came clean about the money.
💡'come clean' needs 'about' before the thing you confess to.
❌She came clean that she broke the window.
✅She came clean and admitted that she broke the window.' or 'She came clean about breaking the window.
💡'come clean' is not directly followed by a that-clause.