Why We’re Wrong To Call a Spade a Spade

Desiderius Erasmus made an error that stays with us today.

On the plus side, Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus was considered one of the greatest scholars of the northern Renaissance and founder of the Reformation.

But the Dutch philosopher and Catholic theologian turned out to be a clumsy wordsmith.

The influential classical scholar and Catholic priest born in Rotterdam in 1466 wrote only in Latin. That was the problem when translating from Greek, which we will get to in a moment.

Considered the outstanding scholar of the northern Renaissance, Erasmus is credited with the expression, “call a spade a spade.” It seems like a smart idea whether you are haggling over a treaty or bargaining with a relative. It helps to call a spade a spade when you must face your 16-year-old for returning the family car on empty.

Only Erasmus made a proofreading error, which may be excusable for most, but is not something to brag about when your day job is serving as the New Testament’s first editor.

Erasmus is well-known for caustic articles that made fun of superstitions in European society through his two most famous works, Praise of Folly and Against War. To better familiarize you with Erasmus’s erudition, here are some lines from Praise of Folly:

“Just as nothing is more foolish than misplaced wisdom, so too, nothing is more imprudent than perverse prudence. And surely it is perverse not to adapt yourself to the prevailing circumstances, to refuse ‘to do as the Romans do,’ or to ignore the party-goer’s maxim ‘take a drink or take your leave.”

“Yet amid all their prosperity, princes in this respect seem to me most unfortunate because, having no one to tell them the truth, they are forced to receive flatterers for friends.”

“And what is all this life but a kind of comedy, wherein men walk up and down in one another’s disguises and act their respective parts.”

“For what benefit is beauty, the greatest blessing of heaven, if it is mixed with affectation? What youth, if corrupted with the severity of old age? Lastly,”

“Some are rich only in wishes; they build beautiful air castles and conceive that doing so is enough for happiness.”

One day, Erasmus was busy writing when he came across a Greek proverb that perfectly fit a sentiment he was trying to convey: “to call a bowl a bowl.” Only he misread the text.

The Greek term for a bowl, skaphen, appeared to be a derivative of skaptein, which refers to objects like spades, spoons, and spatulas, meaning “a long flat piece of wood.” Since then, the phrase “call a spade a spade” has been incorrectly used to criticize those who avoid difficult topics or are overly diplomatic.

Maybe the reason we have so much trouble communicating is that we are using the wrong tool. So next time you want to make a point, remember to call a bowl a bowl.