(~s)
1.
A ~ is a tool used for digging, with a flat metal blade and a long handle.
... a garden ~...
The girls happily played in the sand with buckets and ~s.
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2.
Spades is one of the four suits in a pack of playing cards. Each card in the suit is marked with one or more black symbols: ¦.
...the ace of ~s.
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•
A ~ is a playing card of this suit.
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3.
If you say that someone calls a ~ a ~, you mean that they speak clearly and directly about things, even embarrassing or unpleasant things.
I’m not at all secretive, and I’m pretty good at calling a ~ a ~.
PHRASE: V inflects approval