to tip one's hand
- idiom
- Informal
:
revelar intenciones
- If you tip your hand and show your cards too early, others might take advantage of your strategy.
Examples
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I'm not about to tip my hand for everybody to see.
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In negotiations, it's unwise to tip one's hand too soon, as it gives the other side an advantage.
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- Why would he tip his hand like that?
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My uncle told me never to tip your hand too early in a card game.
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He won't tip his hand, he's too smart.
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Publicity and rigidity could work against success by tipping one's hand to opponents, allowing them to develop countermeasures.
Academic text (1998) -
She almost tipped her hand by revealing details about the plan before it was finalized.
Synonyms
164
4.5
To reveal secret information, often by mistake
114
3.4
Tell a secret on purpose or by accident
60
4.2
To show a feeling or secret without meaning to
18
6.0
Tell a secret by accident before others know
5
5.6
Accidentally tell someone something you want to keep secret
5
5.1
To tell a secret that should be kept
1
6.5
Tell a secret and spoil a planned surprise
1
5.5
To tell a secret by accident and spoil a surprise
Antonyms
How Revealing
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense can be partially derived: if a learner knows 'tip' in the sense of giving information and 'hand' as a card-player's cards, they can infer 'to reveal one's cards/intentions'. However, the reading depends on a card-playing metaphor and a conventionalized idiomatic use of 'hand', so without that cultural/lexical knowledge the meaning is not fully predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Tip one's hand comes from card games, where a player who slightly tips their hand can accidentally show their cards to others. That's why it now means 'reveal one's intentions' or 'show your plans'.