let the cat out of the bag
Meaning: to reveal a secret inadvertently.
Language: English
Literally: to let a cat out of a bag
Category: Animals
Origin: Medieval market fraud where cats were substituted for piglets in bags; buyers discovered the deception.
Other ways to say this
- Japanese: 口が滑る (kuchi ga suberu) — literally: The mouth slips
- English: spill the beans
More idioms — Animals
- go belly up — to fail completely; to go bankrupt.
- bark up the wrong tree — to pursue a wrong course; to blame the wrong person.
- get your ducks in a row — to organize yourself; to prepare systematically.
- in a pig's eye — absolutely not; never; expressing strong disagreement.
- like a fish out of water — uncomfortable or awkward in a situation; out of one's element.
- bury the hatchet — to make peace; to settle a dispute.
More English idioms
- pull your punches — to hold back; to be less forceful than you could be.
- spill the tea — to reveal gossip or scandalous information.
- wear your heart on your sleeve — to display emotions openly; to be transparent about feelings.
- mad as a box of frogs — completely crazy; chaotic and unpredictable.
- have the wool pulled over your eyes — to be deceived or fooled.
- not worth your salt — incompetent; not deserving of wages or respect.
From our untranslatable words
- Hygge — The warm contentment of simple, cozy pleasures shared with people you love — candles, bla…
- Komorebi — The dappled light that filters through leaves and scatters across the ground.
- Schadenfreude — The guilty little pleasure of taking satisfaction in someone else's misfortune.