LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG Definition & Meaning

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let the cat out of the bag

To disclose a secret: “The mayor's visit was to be kept strictly confidential, but someone must have let the cat out of the bag, because the airport was swarming with reporters.”

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Idioms and Phrases

Give away a secret, as in Mom let the cat out of the bag and told us Karen was engaged . This expression alludes to the dishonest practice of a merchant substituting a worthless cat for a valuable pig, which is discovered only when the buyer gets home and opens the bag. [Mid-1700s] Also see pig in a poke .

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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