open the kimono

verb

To reveal confidential information, especially details of one's business operations.

OriginJapanese 胸襟を開く →
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Meanings

verbopen the kimono (third-person singular simple present opens the kimono, present participle opening the kimono, simple past and past participle opened the kimono)

present singular third person opens the kimono · participle present opening the kimono · participle past opened the kimono · past opened the kimono · alternative open up the kimono

  1. idiomaticoftenbusinessTo reveal confidential information, especially details of one's business operations.

    For the first 10 minutes, Lui refuses to "open the kimono" and reveal details about the company.

    1999, Time, volume 154, numbers 10-17, page 72
    1 more example

    Before agreeing to “open the kimono” and show them everything, first ask exactly what they will want to see—all sales records, from all customers?

    2014, Susie Wyshak, Good Food, Great Business

Origin

  1. Japanese裃を脱ぐ“to be frank”
  2. Japanese胸襟を開く“to share one's feelings”
  3. Englishopen the kimono

Unknown. Possibly a calque of Japanese 胸襟を開く (“to share one's feelings”, literally “to open one's collar”) or Japanese 裃を脱ぐ (“to be frank”, literally “to take off one's haori and hakama (two garments worn over a kimono)”).

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

open the kimono. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20the%20kimono

MLA

“open the kimono.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20the%20kimono. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “open the kimono,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/open%20the%20kimono.

Source: open the kimono on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.