Who knows where the bodies are buried
Know where the bodies are buried
To know where the bodies are buried means to know the closely guarded secrets of someone or an organization. These secrets may be criminal, immoral, or simply embarrassing, confidential or proprietary. The idiom know where the bodies are buried is often used in business. The earliest known use of the phrase is in the American film Citizen Kane, directed by Orson Welles. In it, Kane’s widow says, “You can learn a lot from him. He knows where the bodies are buried.” There were no murders in the film Citizen Kane, so the phrase was taken figuratively. This figurative use of the phrase know where the bodies are buried caught on quickly, even though the film Citizen Kane was a box office flop. Related phrases are knows where the bodies are buried, knew where the bodies were buried, knowing where the bodies are buried.