Spanish phrase similar to "lay my cards on the table"

Question

Is there a similar expression to express that one is being honest and forthright, and not hiding information?

score 13 · Accepted Answer · answered Jun 14 '22 at 19:26

13

Yes, the phrase you're looking for is

'Poner las cartas sobre la mesa', a quite literal translation.

answered Jun 14 '22 at 19:26

spanish-guest-9834798345

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Depending on localization, "cartas" might be interchanged with "naipes" – spanish-guest-9834798345 Jun 14 '22 at 19:27
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In Spanish from Spain, this expression is correct and well known. – King Midas Jun 15 '22 at 08:28
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The question is which one is the translation ;-). – Peter - Reinstate Monica Jun 16 '22 at 16:49
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@spanish-guest-9834798345 donde se usa naipes? – terdon Jun 17 '22 at 08:40

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Jun 14 '22 at 21:46

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Otra opción, con el mismo significado, es mostrar las cartas. Se trata de una frase hecha, que deriva directamente de mostrar:

Mostrar. 1. tr. Manifestar o poner a la vista algo, o enseñarlo o señalarlo para que se vea.

answered Jun 14 '22 at 21:46

karloswitt

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score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 14 '22 at 19:38

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DLE says:

poner [...] las cartas boca arriba

1. loc.verb. Poner de manifiesto un propósito u opinión que se guardaba oculto.

DLE also mentions enseñar las cartas as a synonym. So both poner las cartas boca arriba and enseñar las cartas have that meaning of "showing your intentions or opinions, which were previously hidden".

I have always said poner las cartas sobre la mesa, though. I do not think it is uncommon to say it that way.

answered Jun 14 '22 at 19:38

wimi

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Living in Colombia and Spain, in both countries I have always heard "poner las cartas sobre la mesa" and "enseñar las cartas". Both sound natural to me, more than "poner las cartas boca arriba" – mrbolichi Jun 15 '22 at 09:21

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Jun 15 '22 at 17:20

I add these two expressions that mean something similar (at least in Chile):

Hablar a calzón quitado.

Hablar sin pelos en la lengua.

These expressions mean to say things with total frankness, without hiding anything. They differ from "poner las cartas sobre la mesa" in that they also express shamelessness, speaking without censorship or social or moral concealment.

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 17 '22 at 09:01

At least related is the equivalent to the English to come clean: One decides to stop hiding something (and, if you want, lay all cards on the table). The Spanish translation is simply confesar [algo], to confess something.

(In German one could also say "die Hosen runterlassen", literally "let down your pants", to reveal what was previously concealed, in an embarrassing fashion, often under pressure. But I think this idiom has no direct equivalent in Spanish.)

Spanish phrase similar to "lay my cards on the table"

5 Answers5