in spades

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.

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /ɪn ˈspeɪds/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

in spades

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

   Synonyms: in droves, abundantly, but good

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

   • 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," […]

   • 1993 June 23, Patricia Leigh Brown, “Yellowstone’s landmark in logs”, in The New York Times‎^[1], archived from the original on 28 April 2016:

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

   • 2009 December 8, Justin Fox, “The top 10 everything of 2009: Top 10 best business deals: 2. JPMorgan Chase and the deals it didn't do”, in Time‎^[2], archived from the original on 23 April 2016:

     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.

• Despains