Tener un as bajo la manga

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/te·ˈneɾ un as ˈβa·xo la ˈman·ga/

To have an ace up one's sleeve.

Frequency

ConversationVery common

JournalismCommon

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicRare

In English

to have an ace up one's sleeve; **to have an ace up one's sleeve**; **to have a trick up one's sleeve**; **to have a secret weapon**; **to keep something in reserve**; **to have a backup plan**

Meaning

Tener un as bajo la manga means to have an ace up one's sleeve, to have a secret advantage or to keep a valuable option in reserve.

Examples

Seguro que tiene un as bajo la manga.

I'm sure he has an ace up his sleeve.

Siempre guarda un as bajo la manga para el final.

She always keeps an ace up her sleeve until the very end.

Creíamos que había perdido, pero tenía un as bajo la manga.

We thought he had lost, but he had an ace up his sleeve.

Conviene tener algún as bajo la manga por si algo sale mal.

It's a good idea to keep a backup plan in reserve.

It refers to something that has been deliberately kept hidden until the right moment.

Used when

has a hidden strategy
keeps an alternative plan in reserve
surprises others with an unexpected solution
possesses information that others do not know
saves their strongest argument until the end

Origin

The expression comes from card games.

An ace is often the most valuable card in the deck.

A player who secretly kept one hidden inside their sleeve possessed an unfair advantage that could be revealed at the perfect moment.

Although the original image suggested cheating, modern Spanish usually interprets the idiom more broadly as having a concealed advantage or reserve strategy.

Cultural note

The expression is not necessarily negative.

Someone who tiene un as bajo la manga may simply be:

well prepared;
cautious;
strategic;
or resourceful.

Only the context determines whether the hidden advantage is viewed positively or suspiciously.

Did you know?

Spanish has several idioms inspired by card games:

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

Among them, tener un as bajo la manga is one of the few idioms whose wording and meaning are almost identical in both Spanish and English.

For English speakers

This idiom has an exact English equivalent.

The most natural translations include:

to have an ace up one's sleeve
to have a trick up one's sleeve
to have a secret weapon

The first is by far the closest match in both meaning and imagery.