kiss and tell

Meaning

To 'kiss and tell' means to share private, intimate, or confidential details about one's romantic or sexual relationships with others, especially to the media or public. It can be used as a verb phrase or as a hyphenated adjective modifying a noun. The tone is usually disapproving, as it violates trust.

Examples

• I can trust him because I know he's not the type to kiss and tell.

  I can trust him because I know he's not the type to kiss and tell.

• She wrote a kiss-and-tell memoir about her relationship with the famous actor.

  She wrote a kiss-and-tell memoir about her relationship with the famous actor.

• If you kiss and tell, nobody in this town is going to want to date you.

  If you kiss and tell, nobody in this town is going to want to date you.

• He promised he wouldn't kiss and tell, but the next day everyone at school knew.

  He promised he wouldn't kiss and tell, but the next day everyone at school knew.

• I don't like gossiping about my private life; I was raised not to kiss and tell.

  I don't like gossiping about my private life; I was raised not to kiss and tell.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He made a kiss and tell about his ex-girlfriend.

  ✓ He decided to kiss and tell.

  'Kiss and tell' is primarily a verb phrase. If used as a noun, it usually functions as an adjective modifying a noun (e.g., 'a kiss-and-tell story').

• ✗ I don't want to kiss and speak about our date.

  ✓ I don't want to kiss and tell about our date.

  This is a fixed idiom; you cannot substitute 'tell' with 'speak', 'talk', or 'say'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• You can tell me what happened on your date; I promise I won't ___.

  💡 reveal private romantic details

  Show answer

  kiss and tell

• The celebrity was furious when his ex-girlfriend published a ___ book.

  💡 revealing private details (use hyphens)

  Show answer

  kiss-and-tell