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let the cat out of the bag love

let the cat out of the bag

Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • phrase idiomatic To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb divulge confidential information or secrets

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

(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.

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Examples

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synonyms (9)

Words with the same meaning

  1. babble
  2. blab
  3. obsolete
  4. peach
  5. qualifier
  6. sing
  7. spill the beans
  8. talk
  9. tattle

hypernyms (11)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. break
  2. bring out
  3. disclose
  4. discover
  5. divulge
  6. expose
  7. give away
  8. let on
  9. let out
  10. reveal
  11. unwrap

cross-references (6)

Cross-references

  1. bare one's breast
  2. be sold a pup
  3. buy a pup
  4. get off one's chest
  5. pig in a poke
  6. sell a pup

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