call a spade a spade

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the medieval scholar Desiderius Erasmus as σκαφείον (skapheíon, “digging tool”).

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb

call a spade a spade (third-person singular simple present calls a spade a spade, present participle calling a spade a spade, simple past and past participle called a spade a spade)

(idiomatic) To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to say things as they really are.
- 2005, Bright Eyes, When the President Talks to God:
  Maybe God just calls a spade a spade, when the president talks to God.

Usage notes

Some take offence at this expression because one sense of spade refers to a black person. However, this expression long predates that use of spade, and is etymologically unrelated: this expression refers to the digging instrument, the racial designation refers to the card suit.

Coordinate terms

Related terms

spadish

Translations

to speak the truth

Arabic: تَسْمِيَة الْأَشْيَاءَ بِمُسَمَّيَاتِهَا‎ (tasmiya(t) al-ʾašyāʾa bimusammayātihā, literally “to call things by their names”)
Armenian: խոսքը սար ու ձոր չգցել (xoskʿə sar u jor čʿgcʿel, literally “not to go to mountains or valleys”), սար ու ձոր չընկնել (sar u jor čʿənknel, literally “not to fall into mountains or valleys”)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 實話實說 (zh), 实话实说 (zh) (shíhuàshíshuō, literally “to really speak the truth”), 直言不諱 (zh), 直言不讳 (zh) (zhíyánbùhuì)
Czech: nazvat věc pravým jménem (literally “to call thing by their names”)
Dutch: zeggen zoals het is (literally “to say as it is”), de dingen bij hun naam noemen (literally “to call things by their names”), man en paard noemen (literally “to call man and horse”), (Belgium) een kat een kat noemen (literally “to call a cat a cat”)
Finnish: suomeksi sanottuna (literally “saying in Finnish”), totta puhuen (literally “talking true”), kutsua asioita niiden oikeilla nimillä, puhua asioista niiden oikeilla nimillä, mainitakseen asian oikealla nimellään (literally “to call things by their names”), olla suorasanainen, olla suorasukainen (literally “to be straightforward”), olla suorapuheinen (literally “to be outspoken”)
French: appeler un chat un chat (fr) (literally “to call a cat a cat”)
German: das Kind beim Namen nennen (de) (literally “to call the child by name”), damit das Kind einen Namen hat (literally “so that the child has a name”), auf gut Deutsch (de) (literally “in good German”), auf gut Deutsch gesagt (literally “to say in good German”)
Greek: λέω τα σύκα σύκα και τη σκάφη σκάφη (el) (léo ta sýka sýka kai ti skáfi skáfi, literally “to tell figs ‘figs’ and a trough ‘trough’”)
Hungarian: nevén nevezi a gyereket (literally “name a child by his name”)

Irish: ná baintear an t-ainm den bhairín, den bhlonag (literally “not to call a loaf ‘lard’”)
Italian: dire pane al pane e vino al vino (literally “to say ‘bread’ to bread and ‘wine’ to wine”)
Japanese: ありのまま言う (ari no mama iu, literally “to say as it is”), 歯に衣着せぬ (ha ni kinu kisenu, literally “not to dress teeth”)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: kalle en spade for en spade (literally “to call a spade a spade”)

Nynorsk: kalle ein spade for ein spade (literally “to call a spade a spade”)
Polish: nazywać rzeczy po imieniu (pl) (literally “to call things by their names”)
Portuguese: pão, pão, queijo, queijo (pt) (literally “bread [is] bread, cheese [is] cheese”)
Russian: называ́ть ве́щи свои́ми имена́ми (nazyvátʹ véšči svoími imenámi, literally “call things by their names”)
Spanish: llamar al pan, pan, y al vino, vino (literally “to call bread ‘bread’ and wine ‘wine’”)
Swedish: en spade är en spade (literally “a spade is a spade”)

References

“Call a spade a spade” in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, 2004, →ISBN.

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