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up one's sleeve

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From the practice of magicians hiding tricks or gimmicks in the sleeve.

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

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up one's sleeve

  1. (idiomatic) Hidden and ready to be produced as needed; in reserve.
    I have tried everything I can think of, and I don't have anything more up my sleeve.
    • 1922, Agatha Christie, “Chapter 16”, in The Secret Adversary:
      "There may be things that you know which I do not. I have not pretended to be aware of all the details of your show. But equally I've got something up my sleeve that you don't know about. And that's where I mean to score. Danvers was a damned clever fellow——" He broke off as if he had said too much.

Usage notes

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Translations

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See also

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