Call a spade a spade

Posted by Andrew on July 03, 2003

Charles Mackay in _The Lost Beauties of the English Language_ suggests it derives from the word spaed, meaning castrated. So to call a spaed, a spaed is to call a eunuch, a eunuch.

I think it good palin English without fraud,
To call a spade a spade, a bawd a bawd.
Taylor, the Water Poet, 1630

• Call a spade a spade ESC 07/04/03
  • Call a spade a spade Lewis 07/07/03