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Definition

To willingly express a sentiment that is normally considered embarrassing or disreputable to hold; to reveal an ulterior motive.

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Origins

Corpus searches seem to confirm that this phrase was absent from widespread usage until after the mid-1990s, when the cartoon character Krusty the Clown used a similar phrase in the episode "A Star Is Burns" of the American animated TV series The Simpsons, saying, "I said the quiet part loud and the loud part quiet."

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In Context

  • "“Just what are you trying to say here, Miss Parker?” “That you’re a jingoistic idiot.” Yeah, I said the quiet part loud. I blame the pain meds. But there‘s no way I was letting this metal-heavy moron lecture me about my duty to my country, without giving me the chance to make up my own mind."
  • "Santorum says that it’s not about contraception, it’s about any type of medical treatment. Which...seems to me like he’s saying the quiet part loud again! But yes, the Blunt Amendment would give any employer the right to withhold any type of medical care for any reason."
  • "Donald Trump is not subtle. While normal political language functions through implication and indirection, Mr. Trump luxuriates in saying the quiet part loud. But in doing so, Mr. Trump exposes what drives the politics of the movement he commands."
  • "“When you’re a star, they let you do it,” the president, Epstein’s sometime associate, infamously bragged, once again saying, with stunning efficiency, the quiet part loud."
  • "The popular Twitter meme that originated from reporter Jared Sexton after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted out his Trump Tower meeting email exchanges has come to encapsulate the Trump era — a rare moment in our political history in which saying the quiet part out loud is a routine line of defense."
  • "The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression said that Ms. Steinbach had said the quiet part out loud, to chilling effect."
  • "For years, he has inverted the politician’s playbook by saying the quiet part out loud and flaunting misconduct in public. When, in a 2016 presidential debate, Hillary Clinton accused him of dodging taxes, Trump retorted: “That makes me smart.”"
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See Also

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