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a look at it? (C. S.)
He remembered how... June had blurted out to
him that Fleur ought to have married her young
brother. (J. G.)
"If you do want to know the truth, " he blurted
out, "it put me to a hell of a lot of trouble!"
(A. C.)
to let out to reveal a secret
"George and I talked it "
"Oh! His name's 'George, ' is it?"
"Yes. Did I let that out?" (R. A.)
Blackmail! Oh, Mr. Sartorius, do you think I
would let out a word about your premises? (B. Sh.)
to let on to reveal (a secret); to betray (a fact)
I haven't heard a word about anything. She ob-
viously wasn't going to let on. (B. R.) Don't let on
that I told you. (W. B.)
to let a person in on (the secret, idea, plan, etc.) to
make it known to him; to reveal it to him
I got one or two ideas that I will let you in on. (P.
Ch.)
Erik smiled. "Why not let them in on the good
news?" (M. W.)
A leakage of information is described thus: to leak out to
become generally known after being a secret (in spite of
efforts to keep it secret)
The news has leaked out. (A. H.)
It was the sort of thing that, if talked over,
would certainly leak out. (J. G.)
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A little bird is a facetious term for an anonymous informer,
hence A little bird tells (told) me means / know it from
anonymous sources.
A little bird tells me you're getting married
next month. (D. E. S.)
"But I don't see how you know." George closed
the other eye.
"A little bird, Lady Curven." (J. G.)
He has so wanted to have a son himself. A little
bird has always told me that. (J. G.)
Inducing a person to talk and so to reveal a secret may be put
in this way:
to draw a person out to make him talk and so reveal a
secret
She expressed no surprise nor emotion at Sir
Charle's overnight decision. Nor could Mr.
Satterthwaite draw her out on the point. (A. Chr.)
to pump (someone) to question persistently to try to
obtain all information possible
You've roused all Aunt Dagmar's suspicions.
She was pumping you, but, like an idiot, you
couldn't see it. (A. Chr.)
Miss Milton. That was her name. Perhaps he'ld
tell some more. "It's no good pumping. Is that
all you're after?" (H. W.)
"...have you, you nasty man, come just to pump
me about murders?" (A. Chr.)
SUSPICION, DECEPTION, DISBELIEF
Suspicion may be expressed by these colloquial phrases in
common use:
to be (look, sound) fishy to be (look, sound) suspicious or
doubtful
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fishy arousing suspicion; suspicious; of a disreputable or
doubtful character
I don't like that. It sounds a bit fishy to me. (A. W.)
"You mean that in your belief Jackqueline de
Bellefort shot madame Doyle?" Poirot asked.'
"That's what it looks like to me." "It all sounds rather
fishy to me." (A. Chr.) There was something fishy
about Dondolo's solicitude, something frightening.
(S. H.) He was a new man Sir Bartholomew had
only him a fortnight and the moment after the crime
he disappears vanishes into the air. That looks a
bit fishy, doesn't it? (A. Chr.) This is a fishy story.
(A. H.)
to smell a rat - to become suspicious; to have suspicions
No, Sir, it wouldn't do. If he is what he may be, he
would smell a rat. (V. L.) "The fool, " muttered
Louis Lemire. "He only got what he deserved. He
should have smelt a rat." (S. M.)
to have (have got) a hunch to have a strong feeling of
suspicion; to have a suspicion which has no logical basis, a
premonition
I've got a hunch that he did it, but there's nothing to
go on. (J. F.) He has a hunch that he is being
tricked. (A. H.) He says he's got a hunch there's
something wrong with the plan, but he can't put his
finger on it. (R. K.)
There's a catch in it (somewhere) expresses suspicion that
everything is not what it appears to be.
"Do you remember what it was you fell over?"
Connie thought again. She felt that there was a catch
in it somewhere. (N. C.) I thought there was a catch
in it somewhere. (B. Sh.)
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a mare's nest an unfounded suspicion; a baseless rumour;
a mere invention. Often: to find a mare's nest.,
I'm much obliged to you. A pretty mare's nest
arresting him would have been. (A. Chr.) Soames
rose. "Never mind that. Please watch 47, and take
care not to find a mare's nest. Good-morning!" Mr.
Polteed's eye glinted at the words "mare's nest!" (J.
G.)
Among colloquial phrases containing the idea of deception
the following are very common:
to take someone in to deceive him; to cheat
Don't you dare try this game on me? I taught it to
you and it doesn't take me in. (B. Sh.) "How
malicious you are, Alex dear." "Because I refuse to
be taken in by you?" (A. Chr.) I am sure you could
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