Tip one's hand

Question

"Well, I don't want to go into too much detail here because, obviously, in counterterrorism no one wants to tip the hand of what has happened here and what may happen in the future," Rice said.

Can I say 'tip their hand' instead of 'tip the hand' here?

Thanks.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

I can't believe she said that, LIJ. She's an extremely well-educated lady. Anyway, if she said it, that's a terrible butchering of the expression. She was a college president. Your version is actually closer to what it should be. "Their hand" is acceptable, although I'd prefer the singular "his" to agree with "no one." And there's surely no point in saying "tip their hand of what has happened."

I've heard of the hand of fate, but this is supposed to be a hand of cards. I'd say, "No one wants to tip his hand as to what has happened here," or, "regarding what has happened here." "Of" makes no sense at all. What has happened here has a hand??

The danged expression doesn't fit anyway, because what you're holding in your hand relates to your plans for the future, not secrets about the past. She must have been having a bad day.

You might use "of " in the sense of "No one wants to tell you of / about what has happened here."

There are about 300 Google hits for "tip the hand of" and they're mostly "A does not tip the hand of B," meaning that some situation does not reveal the cards which some person is holding. (The quote you mentioned is there.)

Liveinjapan · Answer

Avangi "No one wants to tip his hand as to what has happened here," or, "regarding what has happened here."

Understand.

Thanks a million, Avangi.

Tip one's hand

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