call a spade a spade

call a spade a spade

To be outspoken is a Chinese idiom. Pinyin is zh í y á Nb ù Hu ì, which means to speak frankly and without scruples. Describe a person who speaks without concealment. From the biography of Liu Bo in the book of Jin.

The origin of Idioms

"The biography of Liu Bo in the book of Jin states:" it is because I dare to be reckless and outspoken that I have learned from the past and steal from the present. "

Idiom usage

I don't have to worry about it. I'm a person without party or faction, so I dare to be so outspoken. ——Liang Bin's red flag spectrum 52

Idiom story

In 383 ad, before the defeat of the Eastern Jin army in the battle of Feishui, Emperor Xiaowu ordered Liu Bo to stay in the north. Liu Bo is seriously ill and is expected to die soon. There is nothing he can do. In his last memorials, he told his own situation and governance suggestions frankly, hoping that emperor Xiaowu would use capable people to defend his territory.