IDIOMS ABOUT HONESTY, FAIRNESS AND STRAIGHTFORWARDNESS

A: “Hey, did you hear the news about Hughie PJ?”

B: “No, I actually have no idea who that is.”

BELOW THE BELT – unfair, cruel, insensitive (to hit or blow below the belt means to do or say smth cruel or unfair)

A: “Really? I’m surprised to hear that. Well, he’s a very well-known comedian. He is famous for his straightforward and sometimes controversial jokes. Some say it’s below the belt to joke about the topics he jokes about but I think it takes real courage to express your real opinion in the modern world.”

TO BEAT AROUND THE BUSH – to not be blunt, to avoid speaking about smth straightforwardly

B: “Well, don’t beat around the bush, what’s happened to this comedian?”

A: “Did you hear about the #metoo movement?”

TO COME CLEAN – to disclose smth you’ve been trying to hide before

B: “The one where women force men to come clean about their misconducts in the past?”

A: “Yeah, you can put it this way. So several women who worked under him on some of his projects came forward and claimed he’d made them inappropriate offers back in the day.”

TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE – to call things by their name, to speak bluntly

B: “Call a spade a spade, man. Did he harass them?”

TO BE ABOVE BOARD (1) – to be fair, honest, legal

TO PUT (LAY) ONE’S CARDS ON THE TABLE (2) – to be honest about smth you know, think or feel, to tell the truth about it

A: “I don’t actually believe he’d done anything that wasn’t above board (1). He made an offer and some of the women declined it, and some did not. However, after the accusations, he put his cards on the table (2), admitted he was wrong and publicly apologized.”

FAIR AND SQUARE – without any cheating

B: “It seems to me since he admitted his defeat, the women, who’d accused him, won fair and square. So how come you still think he didn’t do anything wrong?”

TO KEEP ONE’S NOSE CLEAN – to stay out of trouble, to avoid anything shady

A: “That’s not exactly what I meant. I’m not saying he is this saint guy, who always keeps his nose clean. But it all sounded more like he had an embarrassing personal issue and just chose a very wrong way to deal with it. And note, he’d never touched any of those women. So basically, what I’m saying is that it’s not right to put his name on the same list as actual predators like Barney Crystein since he never forced those women to do anything.”

BY FAIR MEANS OR FOUL – by any means (even if they involve cheating and crime)

B: “Well, define “forced”… You said he was their boss, that means he was a man in power, just like Crystein, and tried to get what he wanted by fair means or foul…”

TO BE ON THE LEVEL (1) – to be sincere, honest

TO STAB SOMEONE IN THE BACK (2) – to betray, to do smth bad to hurt someone who trusts you

A: “You don’t get it. This Hughie guy, he’s like on the level (1). All his colleagues, including the women he propositioned to, say he is a really good person. Some of these women just laughed it off and he never brought this topic up again and he never stabbed them in the back (2) in terms of their carriers, though he could've really done some damage.”

LEVEL PLAYING FIELD – a situation where everyone has equal opportunities and no advantaged over someone else

B: “But how were they supposed to know he wouldn’t have hurt them? They were probably afraid of losing their jobs.”

A: “I don’t know man, I don’t know. I just wish there was a level playing field for people like Crystein and PJ, so they wouldn’t be judged as if they’ve committed the same crime.”