home truth

American  

noun

1. an indisputable fact or basic truth, especially one whose accuracy may cause discomfort or embarrassment.

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home truth British  

noun

1. (often plural) an unpleasant fact told to a person about himself

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home truth Idioms  

1. A key or basic truth, especially one that is discomforting to acknowledge. For example, It's time you told a few home truths here, such as where your campaign finances actually came from. This expression uses home in the sense of “the very heart of a matter.” [c. 1700]

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Etymology

Origin of home truth

First recorded in 1705–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

home truth

There is nothing more contemptible than a home truth that isn’t true.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 9, 2019

Left out, especially, is the home truth that the Catholic Church has changed already.

From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2018

This is a Houellebecq home truth, but a stale, ungenerous one—one that does not extend the same consideration that many women have undoubtedly extended his work.

From Slate ● Oct. 6, 2015

The point, the subtle message of the evening, was underlining a grandmotherly home truth: You get what you pay for.

From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2012

He was much more affected by Beatrice's evident perturbation than Beatrice was by his home truth, and was much slower in recovering.

From The Whirligig of Time by Wayland Wells Williams