off one's chest, get

off one's chest, get idiom
Relieve one's mind by confessing or saying something that has been repressed. For example, I've got to get this off my chest—I can't stand his parents, or He admitted taking the dollar and said he was glad to get it off his chest. This expression uses chest for the seat of the emotions. [c. 1900]

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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