come clean

[/kʌm kliːn/]

verb phrase

confessar; assumir a culpa; ser honesto

1. To admit the truth about something, especially after having concealed it or lied about it

After weeks of denial, he finally came clean about the accident.

Depois de semanas de negação, ele finalmente confessou a verdade sobre o acidente.

2. To tell the complete truth; to be honest and transparent

She decided to come clean with her parents about her grades.

Ela decidiu ser honesta com seus pais sobre suas notas.

NYC Slang

Keep it real; be straight up; spill the tea

Synonyms

Antonyms

Regional Variations

General Brazilian

confessar; contar a verdade; assumir

Widely used and understood across Brazil

Rio de Janeiro

botar a boca na trompa; falar a real

More informal, colloquial usage

São Paulo

confessar; ser sincero

More formal usage common in business contexts

Portugal

confessar; ser honesto; contar tudo

Similar to standard Portuguese usage

come out with the truth

tell all

own up to something

face the music

come forward with the truth

Look up more words on Fala2Me

The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more