English

Verb

to let the cat out of the bag

1. (idiomatic) To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.

   It was going to be a surprise party until someone let the cat out of the bag.

   • 1849, Charlotte Brontë, Shirley

     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.

Synonyms

• (to let a secret be known): spill the beans, talk, tattle, blab, peach (obsolete), babble, sing

Translations

References

1. ↑ The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms
2. ↑

See also

• pig in a poke
• buy a pup
• sell a pup
• be sold a pup
• get off one's chest
• bare one's breast