in spades

English

Etymology

From the game of bridge in which spades is the highest suit.

Adverb

in spades (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) In large quantities; to a high degree; without restraint; to excess.

   Last year we harvested almost no potatoes, but this year we're getting them in spades.

   • 1954, Richard Pike Bissell, High Water, ISBN 9780873512213 (1987 edition), p. 115 (Google preview):

     "He is three times that bad in spades," I said. "He ain't washed his socks in four months for one thing,"

   • 1993 June 23, Patricia Leigh Brown, "Yellowstone's Landmark in Logs," New York Times (retrieved 29 Dec 2012):

     Character the hotel has in spades. It begins at the parking lot, where bison roam.

   • 2009 Dec. 8, Justin Fox, "The Top 10 Everything of 2009: Best Business Deals," Time:

     This caution hurt JPMorgan's profits at the time but paid off in spades in 2009, as the bank earned $8.5 billion in the first three quarters.

2. (idiomatic) Beyond doubt.

Synonyms

• (in large quantities; to a high degree): abundantly, but good

Translations

to excess

• German: in höchstem Maße (de)

• Turkish: fazlasıyla (tr), ziyadesiyle (tr)