let the cat out of the bag

CAT

abbr.

1. clear-air turbulence

2. computerized axial tomography

---

cat  (kt)

n.

1.

a. A small carnivorous mammal (Felis catus or F. domesticus) domesticated since early times as a catcher of rats and mice and as a pet and existing in several distinctive breeds and varieties.

b. Any of various other carnivorous mammals of the family Felidae, which includes the lion, tiger, leopard, and lynx.

c. The fur of a domestic cat.

2. Informal A woman who is regarded as spiteful.

3. Slang

a. A person, especially a man.

b. A player or devotee of jazz music.

4. A cat-o'-nine-tails.

5. A catfish.

6. Nautical

a. A cathead.

b. A device for raising an anchor to the cathead.

c. A catboat.

d. A catamaran.

v. cat·ted, cat·ting, cats

v.tr. Nautical

To hoist an anchor to (the cathead).

v.intr. Slang

To look for sexual partners; have an affair or affairs: "catting around with every lady in sight" (Gore Vidal).

Idiom:

let the cat out of the bag

To let a secret be known.

---

[Middle English, from Old English catt, from Germanic *kattuz. Sense 6d, short for catamaran.]

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

let the cat out of the bag - divulge confidential information or secrets; "Be careful--his secretary talks" babble out, blab, blab out, peach, spill the beans, tattle, babble, talk, sing disclose, let on, divulge, expose, give away, let out, reveal, unwrap, discover, bring out, break - make known to the public information that was previously known only to a few people or that was meant to be kept a secret; "The auction house would not disclose the price at which the van Gogh had sold"; "The actress won't reveal how old she is"; "bring out the truth"; "he broke the news to her"; "unwrap the evidence in the murder case" talk, spill - reveal information; "If you don't oblige me, I'll talk!"; "The former employee spilled all the details"