1. Home
2. Idioms
3. give (oneself) away

give (oneself) away

---

---

give (oneself) away

To reveal or make known—usually unintentionally—something about oneself, such as one's actions, intentions, ideas, guilt, etc. Margaret had been embezzling money from the corporate account for years, but she finally gave herself away when she claimed her two-month trip to Paris as a business expense. I wanted my acceptance to Harvard to be a surprise, but I gave myself away when I mentioned about moving in the autumn.

See also: away, give