tip one's hand

present singular third person tips one's hand · participle present tipping one's hand · participle past tipped one's hand · past tipped one's hand

1. card gamesIn card playing, to accidentally reveal one's cards or hand.
2. figurativelyTo inadvertently reveal any secret, particularly a secret that puts one at an advantage or disadvantage.

   In a nearly 13-minute address, he did not tip his hand about what he might do next.

   2004 March 4, Randal C. Archibold, “As Edwards's Race Ends, Talk of No. 2 Spot on Ticket”, in The New York Times, →ISSN

   2 more examples

   In Montreal, a 23-year-old pyromaniac tipped his hand by rushing into the fire station a few minutes before the gong rang, shouting: "Where's the fire?"

   1952 March 10, “Cause for Alarm”, in Time, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2010

   The questioning during the two-hour argument was mostly technical, and several conservative justices did not tip their hands.

   2022 February 28, Adam Liptak, “Supreme Court Considers Limiting E.P.A.’s Ability to Address Climate Change”, in The New York Times, →ISSN