See let the cat out of the bag on Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "(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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "lets the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "letting the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "let the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "let the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "let<,,let> the cat out of the bag"
},
"expansion": "let the cat out of the bag (third-person singular simple present lets the cat out of the bag, present participle letting the cat out of the bag, simple past and past participle let the cat out of the bag)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
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"Entry maintenance"
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"name": "Hebrew terms with redundant script codes",
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"Entry maintenance"
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},
{
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Afrikaans translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Breton translations",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Galician translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Icelandic translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Italian translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Luxembourgish translations",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Norwegian translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Polish translations",
"parents": [],
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Cats",
"orig": "en:Cats",
"parents": [
"Felids",
"Carnivores",
"Mammals",
"Vertebrates",
"Chordates",
"Animals",
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It was going to be a surprise party until someone let the cat out of the bag.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], Shirley. A Tale. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC:",
"text": "He proved himself as decent, decorous, and conscientious as Peter was rampant, boisterous, and — This last epithet I choose to suppress, because it would let the cat out of the bag.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently."
],
"id": "en-let_the_cat_out_of_the_bag-en-verb-ZQyC~Pz3",
"links": [
[
"disclose",
"disclose"
],
[
"secret",
"secret"
],
[
"known",
"known"
],
[
"inadvertent",
"inadvertent"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "bare one's breast"
},
{
"word": "buy a pup"
},
{
"word": "get off one's chest"
},
{
"word": "pig in a poke"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "spill the beans"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "talk"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "tattle"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "blab"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "peach"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "babble"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "sing"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die aap uit die mou laat"
},
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die kat uit die sak laat"
},
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "reiñ avel d'ar c'had"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "prořeknout se"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "vybreptat to"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "slippe katten ud af sækken"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "möläyttää julki"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "vendre la mèche"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "irse da lingua"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die Katze aus dem Sack lassen"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "yatsá hamartséa' min hasak",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "יצא המרצע מן השק"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "kifecseg"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "kikotyog"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "eljár a szája"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elszólja magát"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elkotyog"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elárul"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "tala af sér"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "leysa frá skjóðunni"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "spifferare"
},
{
"code": "lb",
"lang": "Luxembourgish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "d'Kaz aus dem Sak loossen"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Mandarin",
"roman": "lòuxiàn",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "露馅"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "slippe katta ut av sekken"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "wypuścić kota z worka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "dar com a língua nos dentes"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "výnesti sor iz izby",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "вы́нести сор из избы"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "leig mu sgaoil e"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "irse de la lengua"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "levantar la liebre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "descubrirse el pastel"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "destapar la olla"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-let the cat out of the bag.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/4/41/En-au-let_the_cat_out_of_the_bag.ogg/En-au-let_the_cat_out_of_the_bag.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/En-au-let_the_cat_out_of_the_bag.ogg"
}
],
"word": "let the cat out of the bag"
}
{
"etymology_text": "(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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "lets the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "letting the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "let the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "let the cat out of the bag",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "let<,,let> the cat out of the bag"
},
"expansion": "let the cat out of the bag (third-person singular simple present lets the cat out of the bag, present participle letting the cat out of the bag, simple past and past participle let the cat out of the bag)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "bare one's breast"
},
{
"word": "buy a pup"
},
{
"word": "get off one's chest"
},
{
"word": "pig in a poke"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
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"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English sentences",
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with usage examples",
"English verbs",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Hebrew terms with redundant script codes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Afrikaans translations",
"Terms with Breton translations",
"Terms with Czech translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with Galician translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Hebrew translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Icelandic translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Luxembourgish translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Norwegian translations",
"Terms with Polish translations",
"Terms with Portuguese translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"en:Cats"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "It was going to be a surprise party until someone let the cat out of the bag.",
"type": "example"
},
{
"ref": "1849, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], Shirley. A Tale. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC:",
"text": "He proved himself as decent, decorous, and conscientious as Peter was rampant, boisterous, and — This last epithet I choose to suppress, because it would let the cat out of the bag.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently."
],
"links": [
[
"disclose",
"disclose"
],
[
"secret",
"secret"
],
[
"known",
"known"
],
[
"inadvertent",
"inadvertent"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
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"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/En-au-let_the_cat_out_of_the_bag.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "spill the beans"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "talk"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "tattle"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "blab"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"tags": [
"obsolete"
],
"word": "peach"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "babble"
},
{
"sense": "to let a secret be known",
"word": "sing"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die aap uit die mou laat"
},
{
"code": "af",
"lang": "Afrikaans",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die kat uit die sak laat"
},
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "reiñ avel d'ar c'had"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "prořeknout se"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "vybreptat to"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "slippe katten ud af sækken"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "möläyttää julki"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "vendre la mèche"
},
{
"code": "gl",
"lang": "Galician",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "irse da lingua"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "die Katze aus dem Sack lassen"
},
{
"code": "he",
"lang": "Hebrew",
"roman": "yatsá hamartséa' min hasak",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "יצא המרצע מן השק"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "kifecseg"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "kikotyog"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "eljár a szája"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elszólja magát"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elkotyog"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "elárul"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "tala af sér"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "leysa frá skjóðunni"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "spifferare"
},
{
"code": "lb",
"lang": "Luxembourgish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "d'Kaz aus dem Sak loossen"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Mandarin",
"roman": "lòuxiàn",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "露馅"
},
{
"code": "no",
"lang": "Norwegian",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "slippe katta ut av sekken"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "wypuścić kota z worka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "dar com a língua nos dentes"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "výnesti sor iz izby",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "вы́нести сор из избы"
},
{
"code": "gd",
"lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "leig mu sgaoil e"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "irse de la lengua"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "levantar la liebre"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "descubrirse el pastel"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to disclose a secret, often inadvertently",
"word": "destapar la olla"
}
],
"word": "let the cat out of the bag"
}
Download raw JSONL data for let the cat out of the bag meaning in All languages combined (7.4kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (8a39820 and 4401a4c). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.