spill the beans

Bean  (bn), Roy Self-styled "the Law West of the Pecos." 1825?-1903.

American frontiersman in Texas who in 1881 appointed himself justice of the peace and handed down judgments based on one law book and one six-shooter.

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bean  (bn)

n.

1.

a. Any of various New World twining herbs of the genus Phaseolus in the pea family, having leaves with three leaflets, variously colored flowers, and edible pods and seeds.

b. A seed or pod of any of these plants.

2. Any of several related plants or their seeds or pods, such as the adzuki bean, broad bean, or soybean.

3. Any of various other plants or their seeds or fruits, especially those suggestive of beans, such as the coffee bean or the vanilla bean.

4. Slang A person's head.

5. beans Slang A small amount: I don't know beans about investing.

6. Chiefly British A fellow; a chap.

tr.v. beaned, bean·ing, beans Slang

To hit (another) on the head with a thrown object, especially a pitched baseball.

Idioms:

full of beans

1. Energetic; frisky: The children were too full of beans to sit still.

2. Badly mistaken: Don't believe him; he's full of beans.

spill the beans

To disclose a secret.

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[Middle English ben, broad bean, from Old English ban; see bha-bh- in Indo-European roots.]

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

spill the beans - divulge confidential information or secrets; "Be careful--his secretary talks" babble out, blab, blab out, let the cat out of the bag, peach, tattle, babble, sing, talk 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"