You're staring at the grid, the coffee is getting cold, and you’ve got five or six empty white boxes mocking you. We’ve all been there. Crossword constructors love an idiom, and the phrase "let the cat out of the bag" is a classic bit of linguistic trickery they lean on constantly. It’s a great clue because the answer can range from a tiny four-letter verb to a sprawling fifteen-letter phrase depending on whether they want the literal meaning or a synonym.
Honestly, crosswords aren't just about what you know. They are about how the constructor thinks. If you see let the cat out of the bag crossword clue on a Monday, the answer is probably something simple like SPILL. If it’s a Saturday New York Times puzzle edited by Will Shortz, you might be looking at something way more lateral, like BLABBED or REVEALED THE SECRET.
The Most Common Answers for Let the Cat Out of the Bag
When you see this clue, the first thing you need to do is count the letters. Don't overthink it yet. If it’s a short one, the most frequent flyers are SPILL, TELL, or BLAB.
Sometimes the clue is looking for the past tense. This is where people trip up. If the clue is "Let the cat out of the bag," but the surrounding answers are all past tense, you’re looking for SPILLED, BLABBED, or TOLD. It’s a subtle shift. Crossword editors like Mike Shenk or Stanley Newman are sticklers for tense agreement. If the clue isn't "Lets" or "Letting," keep it simple.
Maybe you have a longer slot to fill? REVEAL is a heavy hitter in the five-letter category. If you’ve got seven letters, DIVULGE is a favorite among constructors who want to add a bit of "scrabbly" flair with that 'V' and 'G'.
Why Do We Even Say This?
It’s a weird phrase. Seriously. Why is there a cat? Why is there a bag?
Common folklore—the stuff you see on trivia napkins—suggests it comes from 18th-century livestock fraud. The story goes that a dishonest farmer would put a worthless cat in a sack instead of a valuable piglet. If the buyer opened the bag, the trick was exposed. The "cat was out of the bag."
But here’s the thing: etymologists like those at the Oxford English Dictionary are a bit more skeptical. While the "pig in a poke" (a poke being a bag) is a real historical phrase dating back to the 1500s, there isn't a lot of hard contemporary evidence linking it directly to cats until much later. Some suggest it refers to the "cat o' nine tails," a whip used for punishment in the Royal Navy. Taking the "cat" out of its leather bag meant trouble was coming.
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Whether it's a fake pig or a naval whip, in the world of crosswords, it always means the same thing: someone talked when they shouldn't have.
Navigating the Trickier Variations
Sometimes the clue isn't asking for a synonym. It’s asking for a part of the idiom itself.
If the clue is "Let the cat out of the ___," the answer is obviously BAG. But if the clue is "Let the ___ out of the bag," you’re looking for CAT. These are "fill-in-the-blank" clues, usually the easiest ones in the puzzle, meant to give you a "foothold" in a difficult section.
Then you have the "punny" clues. These are indicated by a question mark at the end.
- Clue: Let the cat out of the bag? (with a question mark)
- Answer: MEOW or KITTEN.
The question mark is a universal signal in the crossword world. It means: "I am lying to you." It means the constructor is using a literal interpretation of a figurative phrase. If you see that question mark, stop thinking about secrets and start thinking about actual felines.
Expert Tips for Solving Cryptic Crosswords
If you’re tackling a British-style cryptic crossword (like those in The Guardian or The Times), "let the cat out of the bag" won't be a simple synonym. It will be a component of a larger wordplay puzzle.
In a cryptic, the clue might look like: "Secretly tell of feline in sack (5)."
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Here, "feline" (CAT) is inside "sack" (BAG). But wait, that doesn't fit a 5-letter word. A cryptic solver would look for an "indicator" word. "Tell" might be the definition, and the wordplay involves the cat and the bag.
Actually, cryptics often use "cat" as a sub-component. If you see "cat" in a cryptic clue, it might mean TOM, TABBY, or KAT. If you see "bag," it might mean SAC, POKE, or even RETAIN.
Solving these requires a different brain setting. You have to break the sentence into two parts: the definition and the wordplay. They will never overlap. One half of the clue is a straight-up definition (usually at the very beginning or the very end), and the other half is a recipe for building the word.
Breaking Down the Lengths
If you are stuck right now, match your letter count to these common solutions:
4 Letters:
- BLAB
- TELL
- SING (informal/slang for informing)
- VENT
5 Letters:
- SPILL
- BLABS
- TOLD (if past tense)
6 Letters:
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- REVEAL
- SQUEAL
- BLABBED (if seven letters, but watch the double B)
7 Letters:
- DIVULGE
- SPILLED
- SNITCHED
8 Letters and Above:
- GAVE AWAY
- UNMASKED
- DISCLOSED
The Role of Theme in Modern Puzzles
In a themed crossword, "let the cat out of the bag" might be the "revealer." This is a long answer usually located at the bottom of the grid that explains a pun or a pattern found in other long answers.
For instance, if the other themed answers are PUSS IN BOOTS, LION KING, and TIGER WOODS, the revealer might be LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG. The theme is literally "cats" that have been "let out" into the rest of the puzzle.
When you find a long answer like this, it’s a huge win. It usually opens up the entire grid because it provides so many "crossers"—the letters that intersect with down clues.
Moving Forward With Your Grid
If you're still stuck on the let the cat out of the bag crossword clue, look at the letters you already have. If you have a 'V' and an 'G', it’s almost certainly DIVULGE. If you have a 'P' and an 'L', look at SPILL.
Don't be afraid to ink in a guess lightly. Crosswords are a game of trial and error. If an answer doesn't work, it usually fails because of the "crossers."
The best way to get better at this is to keep a list of recurring "crosswordese"—those words that appear way more in puzzles than they do in real life (like ERIE, ETUI, or ARENA). "Let the cat out of the bag" is a gateway to understanding how idioms function in the puzzle world.
To finish your puzzle effectively, verify the tense of the clue one last time. If the clue says "Revealed a secret," the answer must be in the past tense (e.g., SPILLED). If it says "Revealing a secret," look for an "-ING" ending like BLABBING. This simple check eliminates 50% of wrong guesses and will help you clear the grid faster. Check the intersecting letters for any rare consonants like 'X', 'Q', or 'Z' which might point you toward a more complex synonym like EXPOSE.