Word.ws English Dictionary

calls a spade a spade

calls a spade a spade is the third-person singular simple present indicative 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

Questions about calls a spade a spade

What is calls a spade a spade the third-person singular simple present indicative of?
Calls a spade a spade is the third-person singular simple present indicative of call a spade a spade.

Words near calls a spade a spade in the dictionary

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: calls a spade a spade (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: “calls a spade a spade.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/calls_a_spade_a_spade. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.