to let the cat out of the bag
5
5.1
- idiom
- Informal
:
revelar un secreto
- During the surprise party planning, Sarah accidentally let the cat out of the bag about the event.
- let the cat out of the bag now
Examples
-
Will they get away with it or did someone let the cat out of the bag?
-
He's let the cat out of the bag.
Fiction book (1998) -
Have I let the cat out of the bag?
-
So, are you saying we're never gonna let the cat out of the bag?
-
I let the cat out of the bag.
-
Guess I let the cat out of the bag.
-
Someone has let the cat out of the bag.
Fiction book (1991) -
I'm going to let the cat out of the bag.
-
I haven't let the cat out of the bag, have I?
-
Don't let the cat out of the bag now.
Fiction book (1995)
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
70
8.4
To tell secret information to the police or other officials
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
21
7.4
To tell secrets without thinking
18
6.0
Tell a secret by accident before others know
12
6.3
To tell someone a secret that should be kept
8
7.0
Tell a person in charge about someone else's bad actions in a childish way
8
6.8
Reveal secret information that shocks people
8
3.7
Make secret information known to the public
7
4.0
Make something visible by removing a cover
5
5.6
Accidentally tell someone something you want to keep secret
4
5.5
To suddenly tell people something very surprising that shocks them
4
7.1
To reveal information that was previously hidden
3
5.3
Tell secret information carelessly to others
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
5.5
To tell a secret by accident and spoil a surprise
1
6.5
To make a secret suddenly become known
1
7.9
To tell a secret carelessly or without meaning to
1
7.7
To make something hidden become visible by removing a cover or showing the truth
To tell secrets without thinking
Make a shocking announcement that surprises people
Antonyms
How Revealing
∞
1.5
- Informal
5
5.1
- Informal
42
3.9
5
5.6
136
2.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
let + the + cat + out + of + the + bag
The literal words ('let', 'cat', 'out', 'bag') suggest releasing an animal from a container, but that does not map onto the idea of revealing confidential information; the connection is historically idiomatic rather than compositionally predictable. Because the key lexical items ('cat' and 'bag') do not transparently signal 'secret' and the phrase is a conventionalized idiom, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
The idiom let the cat out of the bag may come from old markets where a buyer paid for a pig in a bag but a dishonest seller put a cat inside instead. If someone then let the cat out of the bag, the trick was shown, so the phrase now means 'to reveal a secret'.