To Call A Spade A Spade Meaning to speak the truth, especially if it isn’t kind or nice, about anything. When you remark that someone “calls a spade a spade,” you are referring to the fact that they speak openly and honestly about everything, including uncomfortable or humiliating topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The word “spade”\u2014a slang term for African Americans\u2014is where the expression got its start. In the early 20th century, this was frequently used in disparaging ways in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was originally used in John Trapp’s work in 1647, where he asserts that God’s people would refer to a niggard as a niggard and a spade as a spade. The term “niggard” in this context could also refer to the misers of the time rather than specifically to African-Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given below are a few examples of the idiom:<\/p>\n\n\n\n