The French expression “se mettre à table” is interesting in that it’s literal translation is “to sit down at the table”, while its real meaning is totally different. English translation of the idiom include:
- to come clean
- to spill the beans
- to let the cat out of the bag
On good French definition on wordreference.com is “finir par avouer” or “to end up admitting”. Here’s an example sentence:
- Après cinq heures d’interrogation par la police, le suspect s’est mis a table: il a avoue que c’etait lui qui a commit le crime. After five hours of interroagion by the police, the suspect came clean. He admitted he was the one who committed the crime.
Here are some synonymous expressions and verbs for se mettre à table:
- tout avouer – to admit everything
- cracher le morceau – to spit the piece
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David Issokson is a lifelong language enthusiast. His head is swimming with words and sounds as he speaks over six languages. Of all the languages he speaks, he's the most passionate about French! David has helped hundreds of students to improve their French in his private online lessons. When procrastinating working on his site, FrenchLearner.com, David enjoys his time skiing and hiking in Teton Valley, Idaho.
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Bonjour! My name is David Issokson. I'm based in Victor, Idaho (near Jackson, Wyoming) and have helped hundreds of students to learn French online since 2013.
