lift the lid

present singular third person lifts the lid · participle present lifting the lid · participle past lifted the lid · past lifted the lid

1. intransitive(chiefly UK, informal, figuratively) To reveal or expose something, especially information.

   In the 10 months since the Romanian revolution lifted the lid off Transylvania's ancient national rivalries, the Romanians and Hungarians who have shared this land for centuries have been living in a state of tense alert, ready for the next spark to fly.

   1990 November 12, Celestine Bohlen, “Ethnic Rivalries Revive in East Europe”, in The New York Times, section A, page 1

   1 more example

   One of the darkest aspects of Myanmar’s political transition is a surge in religious intolerance, especially toward Muslims. Liberalization has lifted the lid on many pent-up grievances, and old-timers in the government and the monkhood are stoking these sentiments.

   2014 June 6, Min Zin, “The People vs. The Monks”, in The New York Times

   Synonyms: take the lid off, blow the lid off, lift the veil on, lift the curtain on, lift the lid on