to drop a hint
4
3.4
- phrasal verb
:
dar una pista
- Eric Gibbs, a junior from Denver majoring in physics, said if women want to get men to ask them on dates, they should drop hints and take an interest in what the men they like enjoy doing.
- keeps dropping hints
- began dropping hints
- start dropping hints
Examples
-
But now it dawned on me—really for the first time—that even then he'd been dropping hints.
Fiction book (1992) -
Then drop hints that you think it's a nice town and you really could afford it.
Fiction book (1992) -
So they came back later and tried to drop a hint like, yeah, do you have the memory speed right?
-
Yeah, I did drop a hint.
-
Just drop a hint that his wife might find out about this apartment... ...and he'll shell out fast.
-
He dropped a hint last week at tennis.
-
That's why they frequently drop hints about things they want to be surprised by.
Blog text (13) -
I wasn't ready to start dating again, although a few women had called me, dropping hints.
Fiction book (1996) -
She went so far as to drop hints about having seen Mrs. Willis at Fisher-Fazio and to let me know that Phil had looked longingly at her when she stopped in the bakery to buy a pie.
Fiction book (1994) -
During the meeting, she decided to drop a hint about her upcoming promotion to gauge their reactions.
Synonyms
∞
2.1
To show that something may be true without saying it directly
367
3.5
Suggest something without saying it directly
136
2.0
To suggest something in a quiet way without saying it directly
42
7.8
To suggest something bad about someone without saying it directly
25
2.6
To give someone a small hint or information about something
To give someone a secret signal or hint
Tell someone about an idea so they will think about it later
To suggest an idea in an indirect way without full details
Antonyms
How Direct
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to suggest or indicate subtly' is directly derivable from combining 'drop' (to introduce or let something slip into conversation) with 'hint' (a subtle clue). This compositional, slightly metaphorical use mirrors constructions like 'give a hint' and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the words would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Drop a hint paints a picture of letting a small clue fall quietly where someone will notice it. By drop meaning to let something fall and hint meaning a tiny clue, the phrase means to 'suggest' something in an indirect way, so you guide someone without saying it directly.