English Explanatory Dictionary

let the cat out of the bag

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.

Pronunciation

En-au-let the cat out of the bag.ogg

Word forms

let the cat out of the bag lets the cat out of the bag letting the cat out of the bag let the cat out the bag let the cat out

Etymology

(Mid-1700s) The inverse of the idiom pig in a poke. If a dishonest merchant tries to sell a cat as a pig and the cat comes out or is taken out of the bag, the merchant's secret is disclosed.

Synonyms

spill the beans talk tattle blab peach babble sing

Related words

bare one's breast buy a pup get off one's chest pig in a poke
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on L Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary