student asking question

what does "call a spade a spade" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

To "call a spade a spade" means to speak directly and honestly, without avoiding things. It means to call something the way you see it. In this case, Ryan Gosling says "let's just call a spade a spade" to refer to the fact that Russel Crowe couldn't have done it without him. Ex: Just call a spade a spade. You think we are going to lose. Ex: John says he's honest and calls a spade a spade, but some people think he is bigoted and old-fashioned.

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