have a few tricks up one's sleeve
Meaning: To have secret plans or resources in reserve.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Don't count her out; she has a few tricks up her sleeve.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Conjurers and card cheats hid objects in their sleeves. "Up one's sleeve" for something kept in reserve is found from the 16th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Avoir plus d'un tour dans son sac — literally: To have more than one trick in one's bag
More idioms — Daily Life
- so near and yet so far — Close to something one wants but unable to reach it.
- cast the first stone — To be the first to condemn someone.
- steal a march on — To gain an advantage by acting before someone else.
- throw someone under the bus — To betray or blame someone to save oneself.
- take stock — To review a situation carefully before deciding what to do.
- with pomp and circumstance — With great ceremony and display.
More English idioms
- a Procrustean bed — A rigid standard forced on everything, whatever the damage.
- a Sisyphean task — An endless, futile task.
- jam tomorrow — A promise of good things in the future that never arrive.
- a rolling stone gathers no moss — Someone who keeps moving never settles or accumulates anything; sometimes also, keeping a…
- little strokes fell great oaks — Small, steady efforts achieve great results.
- have one foot in the grave — To be close to death.