clean break

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English

Pronunciation

  • Audio (General Australian); make a clean break:(file)

Noun

clean break (plural clean breaks)

  1. (idiomatic) The complete termination of a relationship, or an exit from a situation.
    He decided to make a clean break with his employer.
    I'm ready for a clean break with my ex-girlfriend.
    • 1952, Nikos Kazantzakis, chapter 1, in Carl Wildman, transl., Zorba the Greek, New York, N.Y.: Simon & Schuster, translation of Βίος και πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά [Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá], →ISBN, pages 4–5:
      How bitter it is to be slowly separated from great friends! Far better make a clean break and remain in solitude—the natural climate for man.

Translations

  • Note: These are translations of the verbal phrase "to make a clean break".