Cliches: Over 1500 Phrases Explored and ExplainedBetty Kirkpatrick has complied and exhaustive dictionary a must for writers, crossword puzzle buffs, and anyone who is intrigued by language. Sample entries from Cliches Let the cat out of the bag is an idiom cliche meaning to reveal a secret. In origin it refers allegedly to a fairground tick by which traders sold unwary buyers a cat in a bag, assuring them it was a pig. The buyers did not realize their mistake until they let the cat out of the back,