Word.ws English Dictionary

lay one's cards on the table

lay one's cards on the table is the alternative form of put one's cards on the table.

Meaning of put one's cards on the table

Verb

put one's cards on the table (third-person singular simple present puts one's cards on the table, present participle putting one's cards on the table, simple past and past participle put one's cards on the table)

  1. (idiomatic) To reveal one's true intentions, beliefs, feelings, or other previously concealed facts about one's situation; to speak frankly.
    • "We needn't either of us," she continued, "be concerned for the other's reasons, though I'm perfectly ready, I assure you, to put my cards on the table."1899, Henry James, chapter 4, in The Awkward Age

Forms of lay one's cards on the table

third-person singular presentlays one's cards on the table
present participlelaying one's cards on the table
past participlelaid one's cards on the table
pastlaid one's cards on the table

Questions about lay one's cards on the table

What is lay one's cards on the table the alternative form of?
Lay one's cards on the table is the alternative form of put one's cards on the table.

Words near lay one's cards on the table in the dictionary

  1. lay on the line
  2. lay on the oars
  3. lay on with a trowel
  4. lay one down
  5. lay one's account
  6. lay one's cards on the table
  7. lay one's eyes on
  8. lay one's hands on
  9. lay one's head
  10. lay one's tongue to
  11. lay open

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: lay one's cards on the table (page history and authors); put one's cards on the table (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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