let it all hang out

Idioms and Phrases

Be totally candid in expressing feelings and opinions; hold nothing back. For example, The psychiatrist urged him not to spare any details, to let it all hang out . [ Slang ; late 1960s]

Example Sentences

Everton and their followers have been very short on reasons to let it all hang out in celebration apart from in late escapes from relegation as the club lurched towards the footballing and financial precipice, with eight points being deducted this season.

From BBC

I realized that if a book that good could have a problem getting published, all writers might as well just do our thing and let it all hang out.

From New York Times

Society and civilization are actually very fragile things – as anti-social behavior gets normalized and people "let it all hang out", as it were, all forms of violence tend to rise.

From Salon

"To be so unhinged actually does take a lot of craft but it's really rare that you can just let it all hang out and find ways to go harder and harder and harder and more extreme," said Hsu, a 2023 Oscar best supporting actress nominee for her role in "Everything Everywhere All at Once."

From Reuters

I’m wondering how this all squares with a headline that popped up while preparing for our conversation: “Celebrity nudists: the stars who like to let it all hang out.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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• demonstrate
• display
• evince
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• show