call a spade a spade
"call-a-spade-a-spade" is a 16-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“call a spade a spade” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as a verb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 20
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to describe things as they really are.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | call a spade a spade |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 20 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “call a spade a spade” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for call a spade a spade is 20 letters long, classified as a verb. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to describe things as they really are.".
call a spade a spade has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the Renaissance scholar D… The correct English form is call a spade a spade, spelled C-A-L-L- -A- -S-P-A-D-E- -A- -S-P-A-D-E.
Definition
- 1To put it bluntly, to be outspoken; to speak the truth, to describe things as they really are.
Etymology
A mistaken translation of Ancient Greek τὰ σῦκα σῦκα, τὴν σκάφην δὲ σκάφην ὀνομάσων (tà sûka sûka, tḕn skáphēn dè skáphēn onomásōn, “calling figs figs, and a trough a trough”). The word σκάφη (skáphē, “trough”) was mistranslated by the Renaissance scholar Desiderius Erasmus as σκαφείον (skapheíon, “digging tool”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “call a spade a spade”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is C-A-L-L- -A- -S-P-A-D-E- -A- -S-P-A-D-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.