truth be told
intjEtymology Ellipsis of if the truth should be told.
1
Idiomatic Used when admitting something one might otherwise lie about, e.g. to keep up appearances or be polite.
- I'm not sure if I can do this, truth be told.
- Actually, truth be told, I just don't like you.
2 more examples
- Well, certainly there are those who are more responsible than others - and they will be held accountable - but again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.2006, V For Vendetta (movie adaptation)
- When I opened my laptop on Tuesday to take my first run at GPT-4, the new artificial intelligence language model from OpenAI, I was, truth be told, a little nervous.2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times: