The term SPILL THE BEANS is an idiom which means to reveal a secret or to divulge information that was meant to be kept private. It is believed to have originated in Ancient Greece, where it was used to refer to the practice of voting by dropping BEANS into a jar. The BEANS would be counted to determine the outcome of the vote, and if someone spilled the BEANS, the result of the vote would be revealed before it was supposed to be.