open secrets
Widely known "confidences"
Open secrets are facts widely known but not officially acknowledged or openly discussed.
The term typically describes information that circulates informally while being politely ignored in formal settings: His drinking problem was an open secret at the office.
Often applies to misconduct everyone knows about but no one addresses directly.
- unspokenNot verbally expressed
- hush-hushHighly confidential matter
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- acknowledgedAccepted as true
- hushAbsence of sound
evident · truth · coded language · tacit understanding · willful ignorance · under the table · transparent · scandal · public · gossip · euphemisms · read between the lines · silence · elephant in the room · unwritten rules · polite fiction · known · compartmentalization
open secretshidden truths
Concealed factual matters
buried secrets · classified information · state secrets · unknown unknowns · trade secrets
open, secret, opens, opened, opening, opener, openers, openings, openly