Clean

Free from blame or fault.

“Ye are clean, but not all.”—John xiii. 10.

Breast. To make a clean breast or Make a clean breast of it. To make a full and unreserved confession.

Hands. To have clean hands. To be quite clear of some stated evil. Hence “clean-handed.”

To keep the hands clean. Not to be involved in wrong-doing.

Heart. To have a clean heart. A righteous spirit.

“Create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me.”—Psalm li. 10.

Heels. To show a clean pair of heels. To make one’s escape, to run away. Here “clean” means free from obstruction.

“The Maroons were runaway slaves who had … . shown their tyrants a clean pair of heels.”—Sala.

Life. To live a clean life. Blameless and undefiled.

Tongue. A clean tongue. Not abusive, not profane, not foul.

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.

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