English · Idiom Historical

open secret

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

See SECRET DE POLICHINELLE. Open, Sesame. See SESAME.

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Topics: Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “open secret” mean?

See SECRET DE POLICHINELLE. Open, Sesame. See SESAME.

Is “open secret” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

👁 Views 0 today 0 past 7 days 0 this month 0 all time