From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishif (the) truth be known/toldif (the) truth be known/toldTRUEused when telling someone the real facts about a situation, or your real opinion If the truth be known, I felt a little left out at school. → truth
Examples from the Corpus
if (the) truth be known/told• After all, I am not so different from anyone else, if the truth be known.• Nearly thirteen and a half if the truth be known.• You'd rather have a day out at York racecourse than at Headingley if truth were known, wouldn't you?• He looked lonely, if the truth were told.• I puzzle a lot, if the truth be known.• He could never, if the truth were told, stand against his wife.• I suppose if the truth was known, I was narked at being pushed around.• I bet they did it worse than us if the truth was known. 