Question

Spill the Beans to give away a secret to someone who is not supposed to know it

Accepted Answer

Don't spill the beans, but Adrienne is getting the art award. A popular theory about the origin of this idiom goes back to the ancient Greeks and their secret societies. People voted you into these clubs by putting a white bean or a black bean into a jar (white = yes; black = no). The beans were supposed to be counted in secret, but if somebody accidentally (or purposefully) knocked over the jar and spilled the beans, the secret vote would be revealed. Another theory holds that this is an example of American slang from the early 1900s that combined two old words, "spill" (meaning "talk," from the 1500s) and "beans" (meaning "information," from the 1200s), into a new phrase. A related expression is "let the cat out of the bag" (see page 111).

Idiom	Spill the Beans
Example	Don't spill the beans, but Adrienne is getting the art award.
Meaning	to give away a secret to someone who is not supposed to know it
Origin	A popular theory about the origin of this idiom goes back to the ancient Greeks and their secret societies. People voted you into these clubs by putting a white bean or a black bean into a jar (white = yes; black = no). The beans were supposed to be counted in secret, but if somebody accidentally (or purposefully) knocked over the jar and spilled the beans, the secret vote would be revealed. Another theory holds that this is an example of American slang from the early 1900s that combined two old words, "spill" (meaning "talk," from the 1500s) and "beans" (meaning "information," from the 1200s), into a new phrase. A related expression is "let the cat out of the bag" (see page 111).

Beans Secret Spill Supposed Theory Black Jar Meaning