says the quiet part out loud
Exposes hidden motives
To say the quiet part out loud is to accidentally or deliberately voice what's normally left implied—the uncomfortable truth, selfish motive, or socially unacceptable reasoning behind a position.
Politicians who say the quiet part out loud reveal what everyone suspected but no one was supposed to admit: He said the quiet part out loud when he admitted the bill was really about suppressing votes.
The phrase emerged in the 2010s from comedy sketches about characters who blurt out their actual intentions.
- slip of the tongueUnintended verbal error
- satirical commentaryRidicule to expose flaws
- Freudian slipUnconsciously revealing misstatement
- foot in mouthSpeaking without tact
- taboo-breakingViolating sacred prohibitions
indiscretion · oversharing · no filter · explicitness · candor · situational irony · inside voice · impropriety · self-sabotage · directness · tactlessness · truth bomb · gaffe · unfiltered · brutal honesty · dog whistle · plausible deniability · open secret
says the quiet part out loudbites one's tongue
Deliberately withholds a remark
keeps mum · keeps one's own counsel · reads the room · keeps one's counsel · self-censors
quieter, quietest, quietly, quietness, quietude, parted, partial, partially, partition