in spades

== English == === Etymology === From the card game of bridge, in which spades is the highest suit. Perhaps influenced by phrases with similar meaning, in spadefuls or in spate. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /ɪn ˈspeɪds/ === Prepositional phrase === in spades (idiomatic) In large quantities; to a high degree; to excess, without restraint. Synonyms: in droves, abundantly, but good 1954, Richard [Pike] Bissell, High Water (Atlantic Monthly Press Book), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, OCLC 760577; republished St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota Historical Society, 1987, ISBN 978-0-87351-221-3, page 115: "He is three times that bad in spades," I said. "He ain't washed his socks in four months for one thing," […] (idiomatic) Beyond doubt. ==== Related terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === Despains