Talk:To call a spade a spade

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Does "spade" in this context refer to the type of shovel, or the old derogatory term for a person of African heritage? 143.182.124.2 17:44, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

The expression to call a spade a spade is thousands of years old and etymologically has nothing whatsoever to do with any racial sentiment. The exact origin is uncertain; the ancint Greek playwright Menander, in a fragment, said "I call a fig a fig, a spade a spade," but Lucian attributes the phrase to Aristophanes. Later, Plutarch notes that "The Macedonians are a rude and clownish people who call a spade a spade." It first appeared in English in the sixteenth century, and the racial reference from the colour of the suit of playing cards, spades, dates from 20th century. I am currently looking for links etc to make a full edit over the weekend. Till then remember if there are two possible meanings for something and one makes you unhappy then the other was the intended meaning. -- Drappel 18:03, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

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[edit] I love wikipedia

I was sure that there were racist undertones here - but I would have dated both this phrase and the slur as a couple of hundred years old, two times too long for the slur and an order of magnitude off for the phrase. Great to be able to check and cross one thing off the list of things to worry about. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.106.175.189 (talk) 01:30, 25 May 2008 (UTC)