idiom · informal
spill the beans
/ˈspɪl ðə biːnz/SPIL·the·BEANS
speakingtask2
to reveal secret information, often accidentally or prematurely
Examples
“She promised not to tell anyone, but she spilled the beans at lunch.”
“Try not to spill the beans about the surprise party.”
“I almost spilled the beans when he asked a lot of questions.”
Band 8 sentence
“I hadn't planned to say anything, but in the excitement I actually spilled the beans about their move.”
Collocations
- spill the beans about sth
- spill the beans to sb
Word family
spill the beans idiom (v)spilled the beans verb (past)spilling the beans gerund
Common mistakes
spill beans→spill the beans
spill the bean→spill the beans
Say it for a higher band
5tell→6reveal→7+spill the beans
Synonyms
let the cat out of the bag
Easily confused
let the cat out of the bag
“I accidentally let the cat out of the bag about their engagement.”
Related words
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In Communication
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