call a spade a spade

English

Alternative forms

• 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 “spoon” and a spade a “spade” (rare)

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”).

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

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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.
   • 2005, Bright Eyes, When the President Talks to God:

     Maybe God just calls a spade a spade, when the president talks to God.

Usage notes

• Some take offence at this expression because one sense of spade is an ethnic slur for a black person. However, this expression long predates the racial use of spade, and is etymologically unrelated: this expression refers to the digging implement, while the racial slur derives from the playing card suit.

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

Related terms

• spadish

Translations

to speak the truth

• Arabic: سَمَّى الْأَشْياءَ بِمُسَمَّياتِهَا (sammā l-ʔašyāʔa bimusammayātihā, literally “to call the things by their names”)
• Armenian: խոսքը սար ու ձոր չգցել (xoskʿə sar u jor čʿgcʿel, literally “not to go to mountains or valleys”), սար ու ձոր չընկնել (sar u jor čʿənknel, literally “not to fall into mountains or valleys”)
• Belarusian: называ́ць рэ́чы сваі́мі імёнамі impf (nazyvácʹ réčy svaími imjónami, literally “call things by their names”)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 實話實說／实话实说 (zh) (shíhuàshíshuō), 直言不諱／直言不讳 (zh) (zhíyánbùhuì)

• Czech: nazvat věc pravým jménem pf (literally “call it by its real name”), nazývat věci pravými jmény impf
• Danish: kalde en spade for en spade
• Dutch: zeggen zoals het is (literally “to say as it is”), de dingen bij hun naam noemen (literally “to call things by their names”), man en paard noemen (literally “to call man and horse”), (Belgium) een kat een kat noemen (nl) (literally “to call a cat a cat”)
• Finnish: puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä, kutsua asioita niiden oikeilla nimillä, mainitakseen asian oikealla nimellään (literally “to call things by their names”), olla suorasanainen, olla suorasukainen (literally “to be straightforward”), olla suorapuheinen (literally “to be outspoken”); suomeksi sanottuna (literally “saying in Finnish”), totta puhuen (literally “talking true”)
• French: appeler un chat un chat (fr) (literally “to call a cat a cat”)
• German: das Kind beim Namen nennen (de) (literally “to call the child by its name”), die Dinge beim Namen nennen (literally “to call things by their names”), kein Blatt vor den Mund nehmen (de) (literally “not to put a leaf in front of one's mouth”), es auf gut Deutsch sagen (literally “to say it in good/true German”)
• Greek: λέω τα σύκα σύκα και τη σκάφη σκάφη (el) (léo ta sýka sýka kai ti skáfi skáfi, literally “to tell figs ‘figs’ and a trough ‘trough’”)
• Hungarian: nevén nevezi a gyereket (literally “name a child by his name”)
• Irish: ná baintear an t-ainm den bhairín, den bhlonag (literally “not to call a loaf ‘lard’”)
• Italian: dire pane al pane e vino al vino (literally “to say ‘bread’ to bread and ‘wine’ to wine”)
• Japanese: ありのまま言う (ari no mama iu, literally “to say as it is”), 歯に衣着せぬ (ha ni kinu kisenu, literally “not to dress teeth”)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: kalle en spade for en spade (literally “to call a spade a spade”)

  Nynorsk: kalle ein spade for ein spade (literally “to call a spade a spade”)

• Polish: nazywać rzeczy po imieniu (pl) impf (literally “to call things by their names”)
• Portuguese: pão, pão, queijo, queijo (pt) (literally “bread [is] bread, cheese [is] cheese”)
• Russian: называ́ть ве́щи свои́ми имена́ми (ru) impf (nazyvátʹ véšči svoími imenámi, literally “call things by their names”)
• Scottish Gaelic: dìreach ann an cainnt (literally “straight in speech”)
• Slovak: nazývať veci pravými menami impf
• Spanish: llamar al pan, pan, y al vino, vino (literally “to call bread ‘bread’ and wine ‘wine’”), llamar las cosas por su nombre (literally “to call things by their name”)
• Swedish: en spade är en spade (literally “a spade is a spade”)
• Ukrainian: назива́ти ре́чі свої́ми імена́ми impf (nazyváty réči svojímy imenámy, literally “call things by their names”)

References

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Call a spade a spade”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
• Edward Spenser (1881) "prone to call a spoon a "spoon" and a spade a "spade,"" in Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Settlement of Baltimore, page 117, King Brothers, Baltimore