Word.ws English Dictionary

call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel

call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel is the alternative form of call a spade a spade.

Meaning of call a spade a spade

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)

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

Forms of call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel

third-person singular presentcalls a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel
present participlecalling a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel
past participlecalled a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel
pastcalled a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel

Questions about call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel

What is call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel the alternative form of?
Call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel is the alternative form of call a spade a spade.

Words near call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel in the dictionary

  1. call a halt
  2. call a lid
  3. call a shovel a shovel
  4. call a spade a shovel
  5. call a spade a spade
  6. call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel
  7. call a spade a spade, not a big spoon
  8. call ahead
  9. call an ambulance
  10. call an audible
  11. call and collect

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel (page history and authors); call a spade a spade (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “call a spade a spade and a shovel a shovel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/call_a_spade_a_spade_and_a_shovel_a_shovel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.