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Make a clean breast

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Make a clean breast means to confess fully and honestly, clearing one's conscience; thematically, it explores guilt, redemption, and truth-telling, often marking turning points in moral or emotional arcs.

Detailed Definition
Make a clean breast means to confess fully, honestly, and without concealment. In poetry, the idiom combines truth-telling with bodily imagery, locating confession near the heart and chest. It is especially useful in dramatic monologues, religious poems, repentance narratives, and poems of guilt or secrecy. The phrase implies a clearing away of moral burden, yet poets may complicate it by showing that confession does not automatically repair harm. It can mark a brave act, a forced admission, or a longing for release.
Example
Example in poetry:
A confession poem might have the speaker make a clean breast of envy before forgiveness can begin; In a dramatic monologue, a thief makes a clean breast of his crime at dawn; The phrase means to confess fully and honestly; A poet can use it to create moral release after secrecy.
Additional Notes
Make a clean breast means confess fully and openly. The idiom links truth-telling with bodily exposure and moral cleansing, as though secrecy were a stain held in the chest. In poetry, it is useful for confession, repentance, love, crime, and dramatic monologue. Students may compare it with come clean and make no bones about. The phrase has an old-fashioned flavour that can lend gravity, intimacy, or theatricality to speech.
Also Known As
confess
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