Calling a spade a spade by Foxymoron

 "To call a spade a spade" entered the English language when Nicholas Udall translated Erasmus in 1542. Famous authors who have used it in their works include Charles Dickens and W. Somerset Maugham, among others. Its origin maybe the phrase "to call a trough a trough", attributed by some to Aristophanes.

One the hand below, my partner asked me why I did not call a spade a spade, but I had a good reason.

I remember Helgemo bidding 1NT on a hand like North's and getting to 5C. If you bid One Spade you are rather stuck for a rebid if partner bids 2D as now 3C is fourth-suit forcing. So you are almost endplayed into bidding 1NT. Now, if partner bids 2D you can bid 3C, which is non-forcing and shows 6 or more clubs. On this hand of course, Harvey Fox, South, bid 3H and this turned out to be the limit of the hand as North quickly passed. West led a top diamond and South won, drew three trumps and knocked out the ace of clubs, but the defence cashed out to hold the contract to 3H=. This was, surprisingly, below average as two pairs had defended 3H doubled which made, and one East, EISOJ, tried to win the first round of clubs (in 4H) with the ace, without noticing that her partner had ruffed it.  At least the software did not let her lead out of turn, and she perpetrated the well-known "winner on winner" play, through inattention. And now West did not cash the ace of spades so declarer made an overtrick. All this was revealed by a replay of the board on the BBO platform which is pretty good for post-game analysis.

Look and you will find it - what is unsought will go undetected. - Sophocles