English Idioms and Slang

MEANING OF “TO CALL A SPADE A SPADE”

= To stop pretending something doesn’t exist when another person knows it does; to stop using euphemisms in favor of more honest words. To speak plainly.

Spade = a large tool used to dig holes in the ground.

Examples of this idiom

  • Ok, Mary, let’s call a spade a spade. I know it was you who told my boyfriend I cheated on him.
  • She decided to call a spade a spade and told everyone that she wasn’t getting fatter, that she was in fact pregnant.

 

Have you ever told some to be honest and call a spade a spade?

 


 

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