open secret

English

Noun

open secret (plural open secrets)

1. Information that is widely known, but not acknowledged openly.
   • 1894, Alvan S. Southworth, "A Generation of the New York Bar", in Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly (later The American Magazine), Volume XXXVII, page 427,

     It was an open secret in the profession at that time that Mr. Field had very explicit documentary evidence that would have made Mr. Evarts very uncomfortable had the Bar Association thrown down the gauntlet.

   • 1951 May, R. K. Kirkland, “The Cavan & Leitrim Railway”, in Railway Magazine, pages 343-344:

     Speed limits apply at many points on the line, in addition to the general 25 m.p.h. limit over the whole Dromod-Belturbet section, but it is an open secret that speeds often rise above the statutory limit.

   • 2018 November 3, Hassan Hassan, “The Arab Winter Is Coming”, in The Atlantic‎^[1]:

     It is now an open secret that Gulf states have developed ties with Israel, in the absence of formal relations, including trade partnerships and security deals.

2. (dated) Information that is not widely known, despite being freely available.

Synonyms

• secret of Polichinelle

Translations

widely known fact not mentioned

• Czech: veřejné tajemství n (literally “public secret”)
• Dutch: publiek geheim n
• Finnish: julkinen salaisuus
• French: secret de Polichinelle (fr) m
• German: offenes Geheimnis n
• Hungarian: nyílt titok (hu)
• Indonesian: rahasia umum (id)
• Italian: segreto di pulcinella m
• Japanese: 公然の秘密 (kōzen no himitsu)
• Polish: tajemnica poliszynela (pl) f
• Spanish: secreto a voces m