Question:
What is the meaning of the idiom: "Spill the beans"?
What is the meaning of the idiom: "Spill the beans"?
Show Hint
When a secret slips out unexpectedly, imagine a container breaking open—the secret information "spills out" into the open for everyone to see.
Updated On: May 25, 2026
- To make a chaotic mess or cause an accident.
- To reveal secret information unintentionally or indiscreetly.
- To waste valuable resources on a useless project.
- To speak aggregate lies to protect someone.
Show Solution
Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Concept:
Idioms are phrases where the figurative meaning cannot be understood literally from the individual words. "Spill the beans" historically relates to ancient voting systems where colored beans were dropped into jars to cast secret ballots; prematurely dropping or spilling them exposed the hidden results.
Step 1: Differentiating figurative meaning from literal expressions.
Options (A) and (C) mistake the physical action of spilling for a literal or financial mess. Option (D) suggests lying, which is the opposite of exposing a hidden truth. Thus, option (B) is the accurate idiomatic meaning.
Step 1: Differentiating figurative meaning from literal expressions.
Options (A) and (C) mistake the physical action of spilling for a literal or financial mess. Option (D) suggests lying, which is the opposite of exposing a hidden truth. Thus, option (B) is the accurate idiomatic meaning.
Was this answer helpful?
0
0
Top CUET English Questions
- Read the passage and answer the following questions.
There is a lovely story of a tree and a little boy who used to play in its shade. They had become friends. One day, the boy sat leaning against the trunk of the tree, crying. He was hungry. "Eat my fruit" said the kind tree bending down one of its branches. The boy ate the fruit and was happy. The boy grew up. One day, he sat under the tree with an anxious look on his face. "What is the matter?" asked the tree. "I am going to marry and I want a house to live in," said the young man. "Cut down my branches and build your house." said the tree. The young man built a house with the branches of the tree. The young man became a sailor. One day, he sat under the tree with a worried look. "What is the matter?" asked the tree. "My captain is a cruel fellow. I want a ship of my own." said the sailor. "Cut down my trunk and build a ship." The sailor lost his ship and returned home as a helpless old man. On a cold winter's day, he stood where the tree once was, leaning on his stick and trembling with cold. "Make a fire of me, and warm yourself' said the stump of the tree. The stump of the unselfish tree burnt in the fire, softly humming a tune. - After reading the following passage, answer the questions which follow:
I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional shyness has been of no great disadvantage to me. In fact, I can see that, on the contrary, it has been all to my advantage. My hesitancy in speech, which was once an annoyance, is now a pleasure. Its greatest pleasure has been that it has taught me the economy of words. I have naturally formed the habit of restraining my thoughts. And I can now, give myself the ertificate that a thoughtless word hardly ever escapes of my tongue or pen. I do not recollect ever having had to regret anything in my speech or writing. I have thus been spared many a mishap and waste of time. Experience has taught me that silence is part of the spiritual discipline of a votary of truth. Proneness to exaggerate, to suppress or modify the truth, wittingly or unwittingly, is a natural weakness of man and silence is necessary in order to surmount it. A man of few words will rarely be thoughtless in his speech; he will measure every word. - After reading the passage, answer the questions that follow:
Unhappiness and discontent spring not only from poverty. Man is a strange creature, fundamentally different from other animals. He has far horizons, invincible hopes, creative energies, spiritual powers. If they are left undeveloped and unsatisfied, he may have all the comforts which wealth can give, but will still feel that life is not worthwhile. The great humanist writers, Shaw and Wells, Arnold Bennett and Galsworthy, who are regarded as the prophets of the dawn, expose the foibles, inconsistencies and weaknesses of modern life, but they ignore the deeper currents and sometimes misrepresent them. At any rate, they give nothing in their place. In the void left by the removal of tradition, morality and religion, others are putting in vague sentiments of race and power. The modern mind is shaped by Rousseau's Social Contract, Marx's Capital, Darwin's On the Origin of Species and Spengler's The Decline of the West. The outward chaos and confusion of our life reflect the confusion of our hearts and minds. Constitutions, says Plato, “are but the reflections in the outside world of the values which prevail in men's minds." There must be a change in the ideals we cherish, in the values we adopt, before we can give social expression to them. We help to secure the future only to the extent to which we ourselves are changed. What is missing in our age is the soul: there is nothing wrong with the body. We suffer from sickness of spirit. We must discover our roots in the eternal and regain faith in the transcendent truth which will order life, discipline discordant elements, and bring unity and purpose into it. If not, when the floods come and the winds blow and beat upon our houses, it will fall. - From the given options, select the pair of words which carries the same relationship to the given pair of words:
Respect : Regard - From the given options, select the pair of words which carries the same relationship to the given pair of words:
Dull: Bright
View More Questions
Top CUET Idioms Questions
- From the given options, select the one which most correctly explains the given expression: "To smell a rat"
- From the given options, select the one which most correctly explains the given expression: "To take a leap in the dark"
- From the given options, select the one which most correctly explains the given expression: "To pull one's socks up"
- From the given options, select the one which most correctly explains the given expression: "To lose face"
- Fill in the blank with the correct idiom.The fire brigade ______ the fire.
(A) put on
(B) put up
(C) put out
(D) put in
(E) put of
Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
View More Questions
Top CUET Questions
Select the statements that are CORRECT regarding patterns of biodiversity.
(A) Species diversity increases as we move away from the equator towards the poles(B) The tropical Amazon rain forest in South America has the greatest biodiversity on earth.(C) There is more solar energy available in the temperate region than tropics.(D) Tropical environments are less seasonal relatively more constant and predictableWhich of the following hormone is not produced by placenta ?
- Individuals with karyotype of 44+XXY having overall masculine development with few feminine development like Gynaecomastia has _______ chromosomal disorder.
- Match List - I with List - II.Choose the correct answer from the options given below :
List - I
List - II
A Streptokinase I Blood-Cholestrol lowering agents B Cyclosporin II Clot Buster C Statins III Propionibacterium sharmanii D Swiss Cheese IV Immuno suppressive agent Which of the following option determines percolation and water holding capacity of soils ?
View More Questions