to give the game away
1
5.5
- phrasal verb
:
revelar el secreto
- If you talk about the ending of the movie, you'll give the game away for everyone else.
Examples
-
He didn't mean to give the game away, but his expression revealed the secret.
-
Don't give the game away.
Fiction book (1994) -
You must have given the game away.
-
You gave the game away.
-
You give the game away when you fired that shot.
-
Your second sentence gives the game away, though.
Blog text (26) -
I'm not gonna give the game away!
-
- Please don't give the game away.
-
Don't give the game away too soon.
Academic text (2009) -
I accidentally gave the game away when I mentioned the surprise party.
Synonyms
∞
2.3
Show something that was hidden or secret
435
6.1
Tell secrets or private facts because of pressure
342
4.1
Reveal hidden facts or bad actions to people
243
3.5
Reveal secret facts to the public
219
4.1
To tell secret information to the public without permission
164
4.5
To reveal secret information, often by mistake
114
3.4
Tell a secret on purpose or by accident
109
4.1
To make something known for the first time
76
8.6
To tell the police or another authority about someone's bad action, betraying their trust
60
4.2
To show a feeling or secret without meaning to
45
6.2
To tell secret or private information to people
43
6.0
To tell a secret or show feelings you were trying to hide
32
3.7
Tell secret or private information to other people
24
3.7
People find out secret information without permission
18
6.0
Tell a secret by accident before others know
8
7.0
Tell a person in charge about someone else's bad actions in a childish way
8
3.7
Make secret information known to the public
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
7
4.0
Make something visible by removing a cover
5
5.6
Accidentally tell someone something you want to keep secret
5
5.1
To tell a secret that should be kept
4
5.5
To suddenly tell people something very surprising that shocks them
4
7.1
To reveal information that was previously hidden
2
4.4
To tell people about something secret
2
5.5
To show something hidden so people can see it
1
6.5
Tell a secret and spoil a planned surprise
1
6.5
To make a secret suddenly become known
1
7.9
To tell a secret carelessly or without meaning to
1
9.9
To show a company's private information to others, often during business talks
1
9.1
To openly say something people usually keep secret
To show your plans or ideas too early to others
To make a secret known often without meaning to
Antonyms
How Revealing
∞
2.3
1
5.5
- Informal
42
3.9
5
5.6
136
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Although 'give' and 'away' can signal transfer or loss and 'give away' can sometimes mean 'reveal', the noun 'game' here has an idiomatic sense (a plan/secret) that is not the prototypical meaning of 'game' for a B1 learner. The overall sense 'to reveal a secret' is a lexicalized idiom and cannot be reliably derived from the literal meanings of the constituents, so it is opaque.
Etymology
Give the game away may come from old card or hunting games: if you accidentally show your cards or point to the game, you give it away, so everyone knows the result. So, the phrase now means 'to reveal a secret'.