let the cat out of the bag
"let-the-cat-out-of-the-bag" is a 20-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“let the cat out of the bag” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 26
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.
Corpus desk
Index EN-let-the-cat-out-of-the-b · let the cat out of the bag · English
let the cat out of the bag · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 26 letters
- VOW-8 8 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "L" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | let the cat out of the bag |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| Letters | 26 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “let the cat out of the bag” in English
Rare enough to double-check
let the cat out of the bag is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.".
Zero misspellings are on record for let the cat out of the bag in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: (Mid-1700s) The inverse of the idiom pig in a poke. If a dishonest merchant tries to sell a cat as a pig and the cat comes out or is taken out of the bag, the merchant's secret is disclosed. The correct English form is let the cat out of the bag, spelled L-E-T- -T-H-E- -C-A-T- -O-U-T- -O-F- -T-H-E- -B-A-G.
Definition
- 1To disclose a secret; to let a secret be known, often inadvertently.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how let the cat out of the bag appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
It was going to be a surprise party until someone let the cat out of the bag.
[H]e proved himself as decent, decorous, and conscientious, as Peter was rampant, boisterous, and —— (this last epithet I choose to suppress, because it would let the cat out of the bag).
Etymology
(Mid-1700s) The inverse of the idiom pig in a poke. If a dishonest merchant tries to sell a cat as a pig and the cat comes out or is taken out of the bag, the merchant's secret is disclosed.
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.