Word.ws English Dictionary

calling a spade a shovel

calling a spade a shovel is the present participle and gerund of call a spade a shovel.

Meaning of call a spade a shovel

Verb

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

  1. To put it more than bluntly; to express a truth forcefully; to use exaggerated language to make a statement of fact.

Questions about calling a spade a shovel

What is calling a spade a shovel the present participle and gerund of?
Calling a spade a shovel is the present participle and gerund of call a spade a shovel.

Words near calling a spade a shovel in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: calling a spade a shovel (page history and authors); call a spade a shovel (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: “calling a spade a shovel.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calling_a_spade_a_shovel. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.