spit it out

present singular third person spits it out · participle present spitting it out · participle past spat it out · past spat it out

1. derogatoryimperativeoftenslangTo overcome reluctance to say something particular or to speak in general.

   – Sir, I... I... er... – Come on, man! Spit it out!

   3 more examples

   CHUBUKOV. Oh, don't go round and round it, darling! Spit it out! Well? LOMOV. One moment ... this very minute. The fact is, I've come to ask the hand of your daughter, Natalya Stepanovna, in marriage.

   1889, Anton Chekhov, translated by Julius West, The Proposal

   "Well, don't be a miser with what you know," Scott said sharply, after waiting a suitable length of time. "Spit it out. What is it?"

   1906 May–October, Jack London, chapter V, in White Fang, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., published October 1906, →OCLC, part 4 (The Superior Gods)

   "Hark ye, mistress," said the shepherd. "I've had much on my tongue this many a day, but you haven't given me the chance to spit it out. I won't be put off any longer."

   1920, Sabine Baring-Gould, chapter XXII, in Mehalah: a story of the salt marshes

   Synonyms: out with it[Appendix:Glossary · Antonyms: beat around the bush, gild the pill, sugarcoat the pill, obfuscate