in the dark, to be/keep someone
be in the dark
To not know something that other people do. Somehow, everyone knew that Alicia had quit school except for me—I was totally in the dark. No, I don't know who's going to get the promotion—now that I'm off the executive board, I'm in the dark about a lot of things.
See also: dark
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
keep someone in the dark
(about someone or something) Go to in the dark (about someone or something).
See also: dark, keep
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
keep someone in the dark
orleave someone in the dark
If you keep someone in the dark or leave someone in the dark, you do not tell them about something In many cases, the government itself was being kept in the dark about what was going on. She thought you shouldn't be left in the dark but should be told as soon as possible.
See also: dark, keep, someone
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
keep someone in the dark
ensure that someone remains in a state of ignorance about something. 2003 Village Voice It's payback time for an administration that…has ignored lawmakers and…deliberately kept them in the dark.
See also: dark, keep, someone
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
in the dark, to be/keep someone
To be mystified or uninformed; to fail to inform someone. The figurative use of dark for ignorance is very old indeed. “We can’t keep it dark any longer,” wrote the Roman playwright Plautus (Aulularia, ca. 210 b.c.), and Shakespeare wrote, “Till then I’ll keep him dark” (All’s Well That Ends Well, 4.1).
See also: keep, someone
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be in the dark
- I know
- a closed book
- closed book, a
- as we know it
- (I) can't say as I do
- can't say as I do
- know a trick or two
- know where it's at
- be not to know