student asking question

What does "up someone's sleeves" mean?

teacher

Native speaker’s answer

Rebecca

"[Tricks] Up one's sleeves" is a casual expression meaning that one has some secret ideas or plans to use later on. You can think of it as a plan or idea that will be useful when the time is right, similar to the idea of having a "plan b" (backup plan). Ex: Don't worry, I still have some tricks up my sleeves. Ex: He looks innocent, but he has many tricks up his sleeves.

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