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kiss and tell

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kiss and tell

Fig. to participate in something secret and private, and then tell other people about it. (In actual use, it usually refers to a person of the opposite sex even when it does not refer to actual kissing.) The project was supposed to be a secret between Jane and me, but she spread it all around. I didn't think she was the type to kiss and tell. I am willing to discuss it with you, but only if you promise not to kiss and tell. the kiss of death Fig. an act that puts an end to someone or something. The mayor's veto was the kiss of death for the new law. Fainting on stage was the kiss of death for my acting career.

See also: and, kiss, tell

kiss and tell

to publicly discuss private information about someone you know well She doesn't kiss and tell, not even in her new memoir.

Usage notes: often said about published information about someone famous

See also: and, kiss, tell

kiss and tell

to talk on television, in a newspaper etc. about a sexual relationship you have had with a famous person, especially in order to get a lot of money The singer's ex-girlfriend was paid ￡20,000 by a tabloid newspaper to kiss and tell.

See also: and, kiss, tell

kiss and tell

Betray a confidence, as in A real lady doesn't kiss and tell. This idiom originally alluded to betraying an amorous or sexual intimacy. First recorded in 1695, it is still so used, as well as more loosely, as in Don't ask how I voted; I don't kiss and tell.

See also: and, kiss, tell