call a spade a spade

1. To speak directly and bluntly; to avoid euphemism: “The prosecutor said, ‘Let's call a spade a spade. You didn't borrow the money, you stole it.’”

Idioms and Phrases

Speak frankly and bluntly, be explicit, as in You can always trust Mary to call a spade a spade . This term comes from a Greek saying, call a bowl a bowl , that was mistranslated into Latin by Erasmus and came into English in the 1500s. Also see tell it like it is .

Related Words

• characterize
• construe
• decide
• delineate
• describe
• designate
• detail
• determine
• exemplify
• explain
• illustrate
• interpret
• prescribe
• represent
• specify
• spell out