tip one's hand

Verb

tip one's hand (third-person singular simple present tips one's hand, present participle tipping one's hand, simple past and past participle tipped one's hand)

1. In card playing, to accidentally reveal one's cards or hand.
2. (figuratively) To inadvertently reveal any secret, particularly a secret that puts one at an advantage or disadvantage.
   • In Montreal, a 23-year-old pyromaniac tipped his hand by rushing into the fire station a few minutes before the gong rang, shouting: "Where's the fire?"1952 March 10, “Cause for Alarm”, in Time, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2010
   • In a nearly 13-minute address, he did not tip his hand about what he might do next.2004 March 4, Randal C. Archibold, “As Edwards's Race Ends, Talk of No. 2 Spot on Ticket”, in The New York Times, →ISSN