cards on the table
Complete honesty revealed
To put one's cards on the table is to reveal one's intentions, resources, or position openly and honestly.
The metaphor comes from card games where concealing your hand is strategic—laying cards down means abandoning secrecy: Let me put my cards on the table: I'm not interested in selling.
Sometimes shortened to cards on the table as a demand for frankness.
- candorUnguarded truthfulness
- straight talkHonest, direct communication
- truthAccordance with reality
- trust-buildingEstablishing mutual confidence
- sincerityHonest, unfeigned genuineness
bargaining · show your hand · dialogue · genuineness · revelation · vulnerability · confrontation · no holds barred · authenticity · heart to heart · leverage · disclosure · moment of truth · openness · laying bare · bare all · compromise · integrity
- candorfrankness, directness, bluntness, candor, straightforwardness
- Candor Phrasesto be honest, truth be told, honestly, frankly, to tell the truth
- gambling lingoall in, ante up, raise the stakes, go all in, high roller
cards on the tablehidden agenda
Undisclosed true purpose
keeping secrets · bluffing · holding back · poker face · concealment
cards on the tablebeating around the bush
Avoiding direct communication
hedging · equivocating · playing games · double-talk · doublespeak
cards on the tablehedging
Noncommittal maneuvering
biding one's time · playing coy · non-disclosure · obfuscation · stonewalling
card, cards, table, tables, tabled, tabling, tabular, tabulate, tabulation