show one's cards
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
to reveal one's plans or intentions
Literally: reveal the cards in one's hand
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He showed his cards by announcing his candidacy early
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Equivalents & related
Common questions
What does “show one's cards” mean?
to reveal one's plans or intentions Literally: reveal the cards in one's hand
Is “show one's cards” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.
What is the closest equivalent?
“trình làng” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.