name names

name names idiom
Specify persons by name, especially those who are accused of something. For example, More than one person was involved in the robbery, and his lawyer said he would get a shorter sentence if he named names. It is also put negatively, name no names, as in Some of our neighbors disobey the town's leash law, but I'm naming no names. The negative form was first recorded in 1792.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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