open secret

noun

1. something supposedly secret but actually known quite generally.

open secret

noun

1. something that is supposed to be secret but is widely known

Word History and Origins

Origin of open secret¹

First recorded in 1875–80

Idioms and Phrases

Something that is supposedly clandestine but is in fact widely known, as in It's an open secret that both their children are adopted . This expression originated as the title of a Spanish play by Calderón, El Secreto a Voces (“The Noisy Secret”), which was translated by Carlo Gozzi into Italian as Il pubblico secreto (1769). In English the term came into general use during the 1800s.

Example Sentences

“Itzel Schnaas’ video changed everything,” says María Scherer, a journalist who started investigating rumors about abuse by Roemer years ago when, she says, it was still an open secret.

From Time

Now, an open secret has become an international political scandal.

From Time

Haya said these cherry-picking practices have been an open secret.

From MIT Technology Review

His disastrous relationship with his eldest child, Charles, was an open secret, remarked on by everyone.

From Time

Though there’s no way that Grant or Scott could have been open about being a couple at the time, their relationship seems to have been an open secret.

From Washington Blade

Others shared stories of friends who suffered from bulimia in an open secret.

From The Daily Beast

It was an open secret, and one that discomfited several of his brethren.

From The Daily Beast

But the existence of underground markets selling tiger in Guangdong has long been an open secret.

From The Daily Beast

It is an open secret (being open is part of the strategy) that the Israeli military has in excess of a hundred nuclear warheads.

From The Daily Beast

The women say, however, that “special time” with Saraswati was an open secret.

From The Daily Beast

It is the open secret of the universe, and the Bible gives us the key to it.

From Project Gutenberg

The causes of the event were an open secret to his friends and acquaintances.

From Project Gutenberg

But his attentions never gave rise to jealousy; for it was an open secret in the servants' hall that he loved his mistress.

From Project Gutenberg

The matter is an open secret; all Rome is discussing the decrees from the Palatine against the Nazarenes.

From Project Gutenberg

His love of Beatrice de Bardi was an open secret—all Florence knew of it.

From Project Gutenberg