[Idiom] He came of a line of people who knew a spade when they saw one.

[sitifan]

Please translate the following sentence into Chinese:
He came of a line of people who knew a spade when they saw one.
(Joint College Entrance Examination in Taiwan, 1983)

What does the phrase in red mean?

 

[GoesStation]

To call a spade a spade is an old expression that means "to speak frankly". The quote refers to that. It's an obscure way to say that his ancestors were accustomed to plain speaking.

Few native speakers would understand this.

 

[Rover_KE]

I agree with Piscean – otherwise the instruction would have been 'Translate the following sentence into Chinese:

He came of a line of people who called a spade a spade.

 

[GoesStation]

I think the line comes from some published work. The manual-laborer explanation is certainly possible, so I guess a literal translation would be best. OP, you can translate this to get Chinese which would match the original: He was descended from people who knew what a shovel was.

 

[Tdol]

To call a spade a spade is an old expression that means "to speak frankly". The quote refers to that. It's an obscure way to say that his ancestors were accustomed to plain speaking.

Few native speakers would understand this.

It's still known in BrE.

 

[GoesStation]

It's still known in BrE.

I didn't mean the expression isn't understood anymore. I meant that if my explanation was right, the reference was so obscure that most modern readers wouldn't notice it.

 

[teechar]

He came of a line of

You're more likely to encounter "came from a line of".

 

[abaka]

The point about the saying "to call a spade a spade" is that the upper and lower classes were expected to speak plainly, whereas the middle classes would not.

But it's not clear that the upper classes would actually ever see -- or know -- a spade that wasn't drawn on their playing cards. There's not much in it, but I will agree with Piscean.

 

[abaka]

If you want literary confirmation that "to call a spade a spade" and "to know a spade when one sees one" are not the same thing, look no further than Oscar Wilde:


Cecily: When I see a spade I call it a spade.

Gwendolen: I am glad to say that I have never seen a spade. It is obvious that our social spheres have been widely different.


(The Importance of Being Earnest)

 

[Tdol]

That does not confirm your point IMO- it is simply meant to illustrate how removed the upper classes were from some things in Oscar Wilde's time.

 

[sitifan]

That does not confirm your point IMO- it is simply meant to illustrate how removed the upper classes were from somethings in Oscar Wilde's time.

Is it a typo?

 

[Tdol]

Is it a typo?

Fixed

 

[sitifan]

I think Saint Paul knew a spade when he saw one ... and he knew a Joker. This makes us squirm. We want to deal the cards, and if it requires a little “sleight of hand”, some pandering to the popular pundits, or pulling one from the bottom, well, the end (our end) justifies the means ... right? After all, even dogs go to Heaven.

Saint Paul was no gambler. He knew the House had all the odds. And He knew the Dealer. He also knew that a time comes when, whatever hand you've dealt yourself by deceit, sooner or later you'll have to fold.
The problem is that you've put your soul in the kitty, and when you lose, you won't get it back.

Saint Paul knew the cards. He was, after all, close to the King ... and, for that matter, to the Queen.
Editor
Boston Catholic Journal

http://www.boston-catholic-journal.com/calling-a-spade-speaking-the-truth-in-season-and-out.htm
What does the first sentence of the above passage mean?
https://www.google.com/search?sourc...hUKEwiSkuvbsfbjAhULqpQKHaXLBxwQ4dUDCAU&uact=5

 

[GoesStation]

The writer is suggesting that Saint Paul is familiar with the suits in a deck of playing cards.