Poner las cartas sobre la mesa

/po·ˈneɾ las ˈkaɾ·tas ˈso·βɾe la ˈme·sa/

To put the cards on the table.

Frequency

ConversationCommon

JournalismCommon

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicRare

In English

to lay one's cards on the table; **to lay one's cards on the table**; **to put all the cards on the table**; **to be upfront**; **to come clean** (depending on the context); **to be completely honest**

Meaning

Poner las cartas sobre la mesa means to lay one's cards on the table, to be completely honest or to reveal one's true intentions.

Examples

Ha llegado el momento de poner las cartas sobre la mesa.

It's time to lay our cards on the table.

Voy a poner las cartas sobre la mesa.

I'm going to be completely honest.

Tenemos que poner las cartas sobre la mesa antes de seguir.

We need to put all the cards on the table before we continue.

Por fin puso las cartas sobre la mesa y dijo toda la verdad.

He finally laid his cards on the table and told the whole truth.

It implies ending ambiguity by speaking openly.

Used when

decides to speak honestly
reveals their real intentions
clarifies an uncertain situation
discusses a problem openly
asks others to be transparent

Origin

The expression comes directly from card games.

Showing all your cards removes uncertainty and prevents hidden strategies.

The metaphor gradually spread beyond gaming to describe honesty, transparency and openness in negotiations and personal relationships.

The same metaphor exists in several European languages.

Cultural note

The expression often introduces an important conversation.

A speaker who says:

Voy a poner las cartas sobre la mesa

is signalling that they are about to stop avoiding the issue and speak frankly.

It frequently appears in discussions about relationships, business agreements and politics.

Did you know?

Card games have inspired many Spanish idioms:

Poner las cartas sobre la mesa → to lay one's cards on the table.
Jugar sus cartas → to play one's cards.
Guardar un as en la manga → to keep an ace up one's sleeve.
Descubrir el juego → to reveal one's strategy.

Among them, poner las cartas sobre la mesa is the clearest expression of honesty and transparency, making it almost identical in meaning to its English counterpart.

For English speakers

This idiom has a direct English equivalent.

The most natural translations include:

to lay one's cards on the table
to put all the cards on the table
to be upfront
to come clean (when admitting something)

Choose the translation according to the context.