trick up (one's) sleeve
4
6.5
- idiom
- Informal
:
as bajo la manga
- Do you have a trick up your sleeve?
- a few tricks up his sleeve
- one trick up her sleeve
- more tricks up his sleeve
Examples
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Coach Klein does have a few tricks up his sleeve.
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This little lady has a few tricks up her sleeve.
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You really think you still have a trick up your sleeve?
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You got any more tricks up your sleeve now?
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I heard he had some new tricks up his sleeve.
Blog text (26) -
Wendy had only one trick up her sleeve.
Fiction book (1994) -
She still has a few tricks up her sleeve.
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Any tricks up your sleeve, Captain Grandtastic?
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But the founder has another trick up his sleeve—buying the company and taking it private.
Blog text (29) -
The magician revealed his final trick up his sleeve during the grand performance.
Synonyms
13
4.3
A plan people keep secret to do something wrong
9
6.1
A hidden advantage you keep until you need it
3
7.0
A hidden advantage that someone keeps to use later
A secret advantage someone keeps to use when needed
A secret advantage saved to use later
A secret plan kept to use later when you need it
A secret plan you keep to use if the main plan fails
A helpful idea or tool kept secret to use when needed
How Prepared
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal meanings of 'trick' and 'sleeve' create a clear image of a ploy hidden in clothing, so a learner who knows the words can often infer that something concealed or reserved is meant. However, the phrase's conventionalized idiomatic sense 'a secret plan or advantage kept in reserve' is a metaphorical extension rather than strictly compositional, so it is only partially predictable (and cross-linguistic parallels make it more inferable).
Etymology
Trick up (one's) sleeve comes from magicians who secretly hide a small trick inside their sleeve to pull out and surprise the audience, creating a sudden advantage. So, if someone has a 'secret plan or advantage' today, they have a hidden idea saved for the right moment.