know where the bodies are buried

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

know where the bodies are buried (third-person singular simple present knows where the bodies are buried, present participle knowing where the bodies are buried, simple past knew where the bodies were buried, past participle known where the bodies were buried)

1. (idiomatic) To possess confidential and incriminating information about a person's or organization's misdeeds or other secrets.
   • 1971 September 19, Tom Wicker, “In the Nation”, in New York Times, retrieved 13 August 2018:

     Senator John Stennis […] has been active and effective for so long as a member of the Armed Services Committee that he knows as well as any man can where the bodies are buried in the Pentagon and the boondoggles are buried in the defense budget.

   • 2005 November 26, “Business Comment”, in Telegraph, UK, retrieved 13 August 2018:

     No one except Ecclestone probably really understands the revenues being earned by the sport, such is the secrecy and labyrinthine structure. […] He knows where the bodies are buried. No one wants to get on his wrong side.

   • 2007 February 19, Paul Hoggart, “Media: Trust me, I'm a documentary maker”, in Guardian, UK, retrieved 13 August 2018:

     "My criteria for interviewing people are that they were 'in the room' during the big events, that they know where the bodies are buried and that they are prepared to talk with a degree of candour," he says.

   • 2018 April 8, Dan Moran, “Stories to tell about Richard Hyde, a Waukegan storyteller”, in Los Angeles Times, retrieved 13 August 2018:

     Mayor, alderman, park board president. Teacher, coach, athletic director. U.S. Air Force tail gunner and aviator. Pro football player and collegiate wrestler. […] As a longtime observer of the Waukegan scene once joked — with respect — a guy like Richard Hyde "knows where the bodies are buried."