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Definition of Let the cat out of the bag
1. Verb. Divulge confidential information or secrets. "Be careful--his secretary talks"
Generic synonyms: Break, Bring Out, Disclose, Discover, Divulge, Expose, Give Away, Let On, Let Out, Reveal, Unwrap
Related verbs: Spill, Talk
Derivative terms: Blabber, Singing, Talk, Talkative, Tattle, Tattler
Antonyms: Keep Quiet
Definition of Let the cat out of the bag
1. Phrase. (idiomatic) To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Lexicographical Neighbors of Let The Cat Out Of The Bag
Literary usage of Let the cat out of the bag
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Fireside Papers by Frederic Rowland Marvin (1915)
"The phrase, " let the cat out of the bag," is coextensive with the English language.
The old-time English farmer would substitute a cat for a sucking pig, ..."
2. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: Giving the Derivation, Source, Or Origin of by Ebenezer Cobham Brewer (1898)
"To tell the whole matter and conceal nothing. (French, vider le toe, to expose
all to view.) To let the cat out of the bag, (See under CAT.) Bag ( To). ..."
3. The British Journal of Homoeopathy edited by John James Drysdale, Robert Ellis Dudgeon, Richard Hughes, John Rutherfurd Russell (1880)
"Probably the only way to get him to let the cat out of the bag would be to "
rile " him by persistently declaring there is nothing in it. ..."
4. The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal by John Camden Hotten (1874)
"Let the cat out, or let the cat out of the bag, a common phrase, which implies
that a secret is to be or has been let out. ..."
Other Resources:
