English · Idiom Candidate

trick up one's sleeve

Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

A secret plan or surprise to use when needed

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Kế hoạch bí mật hoặc bất ngờ để sử dụng khi cần

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: a hidden card in one's sleeve

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Examples

The magician had a trick up his sleeve to amaze the audience

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.

Common questions

What does “trick up one's sleeve” mean?

A secret plan or surprise to use when needed Literally: a hidden card in one's sleeve

Is “trick up one's sleeve” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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