spill one's guts

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Verb

spill one's guts (third-person singular simple present spills one's guts, present participle spilling one's guts, simple past and past participle spilled one's guts or spilt one's guts)

1. (slang, idiomatic) To confess, or to divulge secrets, typically speaking freely and at length after a change of motive or an incentive.

   At first, the suspect would not tell us anything about the other participants in the crime. But after being offered a deal, he spilled his guts.

   Synonym: spill the beans

2. (slang, idiomatic) To vomit.
   • 1994, Garth Battista, The runner's literary companion: great stories and poems about running, Breakaway Books, page 102:

     He suddenly wanted to vomit, to spill his guts right here on Lake Street in front of the thousands watching.

   • 2006, Arthur Roberts, The Sorcerer's Song and the Cat's Meow,, page 167:

     A stench preceded a green cloud that almost caused the wizard to spill his guts.

   • 2007 Joyce Sterling Scarbrough, Different Roads, Stonehedge Publishing

     But the sudden motion combined with the inhuman amount of whiskey he’d consumed must’ve gotten to him, because he started to look green and made a dive for the side of the bed to spill his guts.

Translations

confess, or to divulge secrets, typically speaking freely and at length after a change of motive or an incentive

• Russian: раска́лываться (ru) impf (raskályvatʹsja), расколо́ться (ru) (raskolótʹsja) (lit: to split up)

vomit — see vomit

See also

• spill the beans
• spit it out