spill the beans

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bean

(bēn)

a. Any of various twining herbs of the genus Phaseolus in the pea family, native to the Americas, having leaves with three leaflets and variously colored flowers, and widely cultivated for their 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 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.

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

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spill the beans

To let out a secret; from a method of voting in secret societies in ancient Greece using white or black beans. To upset the container and let everyone see how many black beans (negative votes) it contained would be potentially embarrassing.

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Verb

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"

Translations

يَكْشِف السِّر

všechno vyzradit

vendre la mèche

kikotyog

leysa frá skjóîunni

plapre ut med

všetko prezradiť

sır açıklamakyumurtlamak

不慎泄漏

spill

(spil) verb – past tense, past participle spilt (-t) , spilled –

to (cause something to) fall or run out (usually accidentally). He spilt milk on the floor; Vegetables spilled out of the burst bag.

spill the beans

to give away a secret. By Monday it was evident that someone had spilled the beans to the newspapers.

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References in periodicals archive ?

Brains Spill The Beans, 4.4% ABV, 99p/330ml bottle, available at Aldi BRAINS Brewery will later this year be moving from their present location, the former Hancock's Brewery adjacent to Cardiff Central Railway Station, to a new brewery in Cardiff Bay.

BEER HUNTER

Two senators are urging former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to spill the beans on everyone involved in smuggling, saying he should not stop at linking a senator's son but must 'go all the way' even if it meant including President Duterte's son, Paolo.

Faeldon dared to spill the beans

And when Bethany overhears Gail's concerns, she's bound to spill the beans to Sarah and Callum.

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Featuring shocking, surprising and candid confessions, everyday law enforcers, teachers, GPs and secretaries spill the beans on their working lives.

Confessions of a Copper

Spill the Beans ANCIENT Greek voting practices where black and white beans meant yes and no may have had a hand in this.

Origin of the cliches; THOSE WEIRD SAYINGS WE USE EVERY DAY

The BJP leader was of the opinion that Raja, who is now in Tihar jail, should turn approver in the spectrum scam to spill the beans about the beneficiaries.

Shourie blames Maran for 2G mess

As Sean gets violent with Max, will the latter spill the beans on his fling with Stacey?

Soap stories: Sean is set on taking it to the Max; EASTENDERS MONDAY, BBC1, 8pm

John Godber's comedy in which four waitresses spill the beans on a supposedly upmarket cocktail bar.

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Jacqui finds a way of satisfying the debt collector while Michaela threatens to spill the beans about Amy's pregnancy.

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The Scot will spill the beans on her divorce from ex-Toploader guitarist Dan Hipgrave as well as her battle to deal with hairloss condition alopecia.