Have Something Up Your Sleeve
Have you ever had someone say you have something up your sleeve? Or maybe that you always have something up your sleeve?
To have something up your sleeve means you have a secret plan.
That hidden goal will work to your advantage. It remains ready for use at the right time.
This phrase often relates to cheating while playing cards.
You hide a card, often an ace, up your sleeve. When you need it, you play it.
According to The Free Dictionary, this expression “dates at least from the sixteenth century, when clothes generally had no pockets, and sleeves were a usual storage place.”
You may have something up your sleeve other than cards.
Secret plans often exist in:
- Business schemes
- Legal tactics
- Military maneuvers
You keep people in the dark. Most relationships hold potential for such secret moves.
Rather than have something up your sleeve, why not stay honest and open?
When you plot against one another, everyone loses. Instead, roll up your sleeves and work together. If you must keep secrets, be sure they help rather than hurt.
“You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence” (Psalm 90:8 NIV).
Thanks to Brad Leverett for the suggestion.
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