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You’ve heard the phrase ‘let’s call a spade a spade’ meaning ‘let’s say things the way they really are’. Which is ironic because there’s so much confusion about what is a spade and what isn’t!

For some people there’s no practical difference between a spade and shovel. They’re both just garden tools for digging. But for others, spade vs shovel is like the difference between a pen and a pencil.

I’m going to try to explain the difference quickly and clearly. Wish me luck!

(Stick around after the explanation to test your new knowledge on a short quiz I made. The answers are pretty crazy and show how confusing these words can be.)

Shovels

Remember this and everything will be crystal clear:

“Shovels Are For Shoveling.”

Imagine you wake up and it's a magical white Christmas morn - snow everywhere. Whoo! You build a snowman and throw snowballs at your imaginary enemies until your husband yells that's it's time to clear the drive.

The right tool for that job is a shovel. It's nice and broad so you can lift a lot of snow in one go. It's probably got an angled handle so that you can get the shovel head flat on the ground without you having to bend down all the way.

You wake up the next day and because of climate change you find yourself with various sand dunes in your yard. Again, it's shovel time! Sure the sand is a bit heavier than the snow, but your goal is to sort of get UNDER the material you're moving and lift it up.

It might be helpful if your shovel has a pointed tip, or some ledges along the side of the blade, or whatever variant you might find in your local hardware store. All that really matters is that we're talking about moving loose material from one place to another.

In these examples, snow and sand isn't something you really dig. (No need to email me about avalanches in the Alps, cleverclogs!) Shovels aren't great at digging.

Spades

Spades can do lots of things - edging some grass, destroying a snowman after a bitter Thanksgiving row - but their primary function is:

“Spades are for digging.”

Their design is all about generating the most force for a downward motion. They have narrow blades - all the better to PIERCE that pesky earth. The metal is thicker so you can put your body weight on it without it snapping.

Give it a narrow point - it's still a spade! Give it a long handle or a short handle - spade. Long story short, is it for digging? Spade.

Test Your Knowledge

Is this a spade or a shovel? (Answers are below.)

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The Answers

That’s a spade. It’s for digging. Maddeningly I found it on a stock photo site under the search term ‘shovel’. SIGH.
In the UK this is a popular toy for children going to the beach. It’s known - universally - as a bucket and spade. But as you’ve learned today it’s a SHOVEL. Oh, man. What a world.
Snow shovel. Easy.
If you said spade, I don’t really blame you. But take another look - you couldn’t really use it for digging. It’s just a square, shallow shovel. These are known as square shovels.
In English this suit of cards is known as ‘spades’. Here you see the 8 of Spades. Guess what? In half of Europe the suit is called ‘shovels’.