"call a spade a spade" meaning in English

See call a spade a spade in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: en-au-call a spade a spade.ogg Forms: calls a spade a spade [present, singular, third-person], calling a spade a spade [participle, present], called a spade a spade [participle, past], called a spade a spade [past]
Etymology: A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus as σκαφείον (skapheíon, “digging tool”). Etymology templates: {{calque|en|grc|τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων||calling figs figs, and a trough a trough|notext=1}} Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”) Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} call a spade a spade (third-person singular simple present calls a spade a spade, present participle calling a spade a spade, simple past and past participle called a spade a spade)
  1. (idiomatic) To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are. Wikipedia link: Desiderius Erasmus, to call a spade a spade Tags: idiomatic Synonyms: call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel, call a shovel a shovel [rare], call a spade a spade, not a big spoon, call a spoon a and a spade a (english: spoon; spade) [rare] Related terms: spadish Coordinate_terms: call a spade a shovel, call it as one sees it, tell it like it is, beat around the bush, beat about the bush, pull one's punches Translations (to speak the truth): 實話實說 (Chinese Mandarin), 实话实说 (shíhuàshíshuō) (Chinese Mandarin), 直言不諱 (Chinese Mandarin), 直言不讳 (zhíyánbùhuì) (Chinese Mandarin), nazvat věc pravým jménem [perfective] (Czech), nazývat věci pravými jmény [imperfective] (Czech), kalde en spade for en spade (Danish), zeggen zoals het is (Dutch), de dingen bij hun naam noemen (Dutch), man en paard noemen (Dutch), een kat een kat noemen [Belgium] (Dutch), puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä (Finnish), kutsua asioita niiden oikeilla nimillä (Finnish), mainitakseen asian oikealla nimellään (Finnish), olla suorasanainen (Finnish), olla suorasukainen (Finnish), olla suorapuheinen (Finnish), suomeksi sanottuna (Finnish), totta puhuen (Finnish), appeler un chat un chat (French), das Kind beim Namen nennen (German), die Dinge beim Namen nennen (German), kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen (German), es auf gut Deutsch sagen (German), nevén nevezi a gyereket (Hungarian), ná baintear an t-ainm den bhairín, den bhlonag (Irish), dire pane al pane e vino al vino (Italian), kalle en spade for en spade (Norwegian Bokmål), kalle ein spade for ein spade (Norwegian Nynorsk), nazywać rzeczy po imieniu [imperfective] (Polish), pão, pão, queijo, queijo (Portuguese), dìreach ann an cainnt (Scottish Gaelic), nazývať veci pravými menami [imperfective] (Slovak), llamar al pan, pan, y al vino, vino (Spanish), llamar las cosas por su nombre (Spanish), en spade är en spade (Swedish), gọi đích danh (Vietnamese)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων",
        "4": "",
        "5": "calling figs figs, and a trough a trough",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”)",
      "name": "calque"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus as σκαφείον (skapheíon, “digging tool”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "calls a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "calling a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "called a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "called a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "call a spade a spade (third-person singular simple present calls a spade a spade, present participle calling a spade a spade, simple past and past participle called a spade a spade)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English reduplicated coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Reduplicated coordinated pairs",
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Reduplications",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English tautophrases",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Armenian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Belarusian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Danish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Dutch translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Irish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Italian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Polish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Portuguese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Slovak translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Swedish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Vietnamese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "coordinate_terms": [
        {
          "word": "call a spade a shovel"
        },
        {
          "word": "call it as one sees it"
        },
        {
          "word": "tell it like it is"
        },
        {
          "word": "beat around the bush"
        },
        {
          "word": "beat about the bush"
        },
        {
          "word": "pull one's punches"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Bright Eyes, When the President Talks to God:",
          "text": "Maybe God just calls a spade a spade, when the president talks to God.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are."
      ],
      "id": "en-call_a_spade_a_spade-en-verb-1HgHKzSF",
      "links": [
        [
          "put",
          "put"
        ],
        [
          "bluntly",
          "bluntly"
        ],
        [
          "outspoken",
          "outspoken"
        ],
        [
          "speak",
          "speak"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "spadish"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel"
        },
        {
          "tags": [
            "rare"
          ],
          "word": "call a shovel a shovel"
        },
        {
          "word": "call a spade a spade, not a big spoon"
        },
        {
          "english": "spoon; spade",
          "tags": [
            "rare"
          ],
          "word": "call a spoon a and a spade a"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "note": "سَمَّى الْأَشْياءَ بِمُسَمَّياتِهَا (sammā l-ʔašyāʔa bimusammayātihā, literally “to call the things by their names”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "note": "խոսքը սար ու ձոր չգցել (xoskʻə sar u jor čʻgcʻel, literally “not to go to mountains or valleys”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "hy",
          "lang": "Armenian",
          "note": "սար ու ձոր չընկնել (sar u jor čʻənknel, literally “not to fall into mountains or valleys”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "be",
          "lang": "Belarusian",
          "note": "называ́ць рэ́чы сваі́мі імёнамі impf (nazyvácʹ réčy svaími imjónami, literally “call things by their names”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "實話實說"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "shíhuàshíshuō",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "实话实说"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "直言不諱"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhíyánbùhuì",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "直言不讳"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "tags": [
            "perfective"
          ],
          "word": "nazvat věc pravým jménem"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "nazývat věci pravými jmény"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "kalde en spade for en spade"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "zeggen zoals het is"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "de dingen bij hun naam noemen"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "man en paard noemen"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "tags": [
            "Belgium"
          ],
          "word": "een kat een kat noemen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "kutsua asioita niiden oikeilla nimillä"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "mainitakseen asian oikealla nimellään"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "olla suorasanainen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "olla suorasukainen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "olla suorapuheinen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "suomeksi sanottuna"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "totta puhuen"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "appeler un chat un chat"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "das Kind beim Namen nennen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "die Dinge beim Namen nennen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "es auf gut Deutsch sagen"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "note": "λέω τα σύκα σύκα και τη σκάφη σκάφη (léo ta sýka sýka kai ti skáfi skáfi, literally “to tell figs ‘figs’ and a trough ‘trough’”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "nevén nevezi a gyereket"
        },
        {
          "code": "ga",
          "lang": "Irish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "ná baintear an t-ainm den bhairín, den bhlonag"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "dire pane al pane e vino al vino"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "note": "ありのまま言う (ari no mama iu, literally “to say as it is”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "note": "歯に衣着せぬ (ha ni kinu kisenu, literally “not to dress teeth”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "kalle en spade for en spade"
        },
        {
          "code": "nn",
          "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "kalle ein spade for ein spade"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "nazywać rzeczy po imieniu"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "pão, pão, queijo, queijo"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "называ́ть ве́щи свои́ми имена́ми impf (nazyvátʹ véšči svoími imenámi, literally “call things by their names”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "gd",
          "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "dìreach ann an cainnt"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "tags": [
            "imperfective"
          ],
          "word": "nazývať veci pravými menami"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "llamar al pan, pan, y al vino, vino"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "llamar las cosas por su nombre"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "en spade är en spade"
        },
        {
          "code": "uk",
          "lang": "Ukrainian",
          "note": "назива́ти ре́чі свої́ми імена́ми impf (nazyváty réči svojímy imenámy, literally “call things by their names”)",
          "sense": "to speak the truth"
        },
        {
          "code": "vi",
          "lang": "Vietnamese",
          "sense": "to speak the truth",
          "word": "gọi đích danh"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Desiderius Erasmus",
        "to call a spade a spade"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-call a spade a spade.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "call a spade a spade"
}
{
  "coordinate_terms": [
    {
      "word": "call a spade a shovel"
    },
    {
      "word": "call it as one sees it"
    },
    {
      "word": "tell it like it is"
    },
    {
      "word": "beat around the bush"
    },
    {
      "word": "beat about the bush"
    },
    {
      "word": "pull one's punches"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων",
        "4": "",
        "5": "calling figs figs, and a trough a trough",
        "notext": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”)",
      "name": "calque"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus as σκαφείον (skapheíon, “digging tool”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "calls a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "calling a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "called a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "called a spade a spade",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "call a spade a spade (third-person singular simple present calls a spade a spade, present participle calling a spade a spade, simple past and past participle called a spade a spade)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "spadish"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English reduplicated coordinated pairs",
        "English tautophrases",
        "English terms calqued from Ancient Greek",
        "English terms derived from Ancient Greek",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English verbs",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "Terms with Arabic translations",
        "Terms with Armenian translations",
        "Terms with Belarusian translations",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Danish translations",
        "Terms with Dutch translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Irish translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
        "Terms with Norwegian Nynorsk translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Portuguese translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Scottish Gaelic translations",
        "Terms with Slovak translations",
        "Terms with Spanish translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations",
        "Terms with Ukrainian translations",
        "Terms with Vietnamese translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2005, Bright Eyes, When the President Talks to God:",
          "text": "Maybe God just calls a spade a spade, when the president talks to God.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "put",
          "put"
        ],
        [
          "bluntly",
          "bluntly"
        ],
        [
          "outspoken",
          "outspoken"
        ],
        [
          "speak",
          "speak"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Desiderius Erasmus",
        "to call a spade a spade"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-call a spade a spade.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/2/26/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/En-au-call_a_spade_a_spade.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel"
    },
    {
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ],
      "word": "call a shovel a shovel"
    },
    {
      "word": "call a spade a spade, not a big spoon"
    },
    {
      "english": "spoon; spade",
      "tags": [
        "rare"
      ],
      "word": "call a spoon a and a spade a"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "note": "سَمَّى الْأَشْياءَ بِمُسَمَّياتِهَا (sammā l-ʔašyāʔa bimusammayātihā, literally “to call the things by their names”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "note": "խոսքը սար ու ձոր չգցել (xoskʻə sar u jor čʻgcʻel, literally “not to go to mountains or valleys”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "hy",
      "lang": "Armenian",
      "note": "սար ու ձոր չընկնել (sar u jor čʻənknel, literally “not to fall into mountains or valleys”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "be",
      "lang": "Belarusian",
      "note": "называ́ць рэ́чы сваі́мі імёнамі impf (nazyvácʹ réčy svaími imjónami, literally “call things by their names”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "實話實說"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "shíhuàshíshuō",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "实话实说"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "直言不諱"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhíyánbùhuì",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "直言不讳"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "tags": [
        "perfective"
      ],
      "word": "nazvat věc pravým jménem"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "nazývat věci pravými jmény"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "kalde en spade for en spade"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "zeggen zoals het is"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "de dingen bij hun naam noemen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "man en paard noemen"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "tags": [
        "Belgium"
      ],
      "word": "een kat een kat noemen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "kutsua asioita niiden oikeilla nimillä"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "mainitakseen asian oikealla nimellään"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "olla suorasanainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "olla suorasukainen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "olla suorapuheinen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "suomeksi sanottuna"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "totta puhuen"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "appeler un chat un chat"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "das Kind beim Namen nennen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "die Dinge beim Namen nennen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "es auf gut Deutsch sagen"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "note": "λέω τα σύκα σύκα και τη σκάφη σκάφη (léo ta sýka sýka kai ti skáfi skáfi, literally “to tell figs ‘figs’ and a trough ‘trough’”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "nevén nevezi a gyereket"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "ná baintear an t-ainm den bhairín, den bhlonag"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "dire pane al pane e vino al vino"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "note": "ありのまま言う (ari no mama iu, literally “to say as it is”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "note": "歯に衣着せぬ (ha ni kinu kisenu, literally “not to dress teeth”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "kalle en spade for en spade"
    },
    {
      "code": "nn",
      "lang": "Norwegian Nynorsk",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "kalle ein spade for ein spade"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "nazywać rzeczy po imieniu"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "pão, pão, queijo, queijo"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "называ́ть ве́щи свои́ми имена́ми impf (nazyvátʹ véšči svoími imenámi, literally “call things by their names”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "gd",
      "lang": "Scottish Gaelic",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "dìreach ann an cainnt"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "tags": [
        "imperfective"
      ],
      "word": "nazývať veci pravými menami"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "llamar al pan, pan, y al vino, vino"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "llamar las cosas por su nombre"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "en spade är en spade"
    },
    {
      "code": "uk",
      "lang": "Ukrainian",
      "note": "назива́ти ре́чі свої́ми імена́ми impf (nazyváty réči svojímy imenámy, literally “call things by their names”)",
      "sense": "to speak the truth"
    },
    {
      "code": "vi",
      "lang": "Vietnamese",
      "sense": "to speak the truth",
      "word": "gọi đích danh"
    }
  ],
  "word": "call a spade a spade"
}

Download raw JSONL data for call a spade a spade meaning in English (10.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-08 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (bb46d54 and 0c3c9f6). 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.