Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
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Derogatory meaning “black person” is 1928, from the color of the playing card symbol.
To speak directly and bluntly; to avoid euphemism: “The prosecutor said, ‘Let’s call a spade a spade. You didn’t borrow the money, you stole it.’”
Speak frankly and bluntly, be explicit, as in You can always trust Mary to call a spade a spade. This term comes from a Greek saying, call a bowl a bowl, that was mistranslated into Latin by Erasmus and came into English in the 1500s. Also see tell it like it is.
see call a spade a spade; do the spadework; in spades.
Learn English idioms with movies – Lesson 6 – call a spade a spade
Call a spade a spade Meaning – YouTube
MAKING MERRY WITH THE NEWS AND CALLING A SPADE A SPADE – Jude Collins