in one's back pocket
5
8.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
guardado en la manga
- The best way to handle a premature discussion of money issues is to have a few stock phrases tucked away in your back pocket.
- keep it in my back pocket
Examples
-
Having Lopez in your back pocket to face all the best left-handed hitters in the National League comes in handy surprisingly often.
Blog text (11) -
And I suspect that these tough Chicago guys knew about this affair for a while, held it in their back pocket until they needed to play the card.
Blog text (11) -
You might wanna put that Time Stone in your back pocket, Doc!
-
Still, having a travel agent in your back pocket when things go wrong can be well worth the time it takes to find one.
Blog text (9) -
I had an ace in my back pocket, however, just in case.
Blog text (7) -
We don't get much traffic (10k unique visitors/month), so I've kept this in my back pocket.
Blog text (17) -
She always keeps her best ideas in her back pocket for when they are needed.
-
It's a good strategy to have a few tricks in your back pocket during the negotiation.
-
He saved some insightful suggestions in his back pocket for future discussions.
Synonyms
134
4.3
A hidden store of money or things kept for later
9
6.1
A hidden advantage you keep until you need it
4
6.5
A secret plan kept to use as a surprise when needed
2
4.2
A plan kept ready to use in case of need
A secret plan you keep to use if the main plan fails
A secret plan kept to use later when you need it
A secret advantage someone keeps to use when needed
A secret advantage saved to use later
A helpful idea or tool kept secret to use when needed
Kept secret and not told to other people
Antonyms
How Available
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative meaning 'kept secretly or reserved for later use' is directly derivable from the literal image of something placed 'in' a 'back pocket' (a small, often hidden container), so a learner who knows the constituents can infer the idea of keeping something in reserve. This locative/container metaphor is common across languages and follows simple compositional logic, making the expression readily understandable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The expression in one's back pocket comes from the image of keeping a small tool or card in one's back pocket, where it is hidden but easy to take out when needed. That's why it now means 'kept secretly for later use or advantage'.