grapevine
27
3.5
- noun
- /ˈɡreɪpvaɪn/
- Informal
:
boca a boca
- I had heard it through the academic grapevine.
By the way, it was on the Grapevine.
- By the way, it was on the Grapevine.
- I have not been served lawsuit papers yet, but thanks to the Grapevine, I no, it's coming.
- I then heard through the Grapevine that Steve has got on a new girlfriend this year.
- Because actually the, the, the, the Grapevine is quite active and it, you know, my name was good.
Examples
-
So, word through the grapevine is that you're newly solo.
-
My parents heard about this through the grapevine and confronted me immediately.
Fiction book (1994) -
I happen to know by the grapevine that the captain has already put in for a transfer.
-
Not much happens around here without the grapevine getting wind of it.
Fiction book (2001) -
I forgot to tell you, I heard through the grapevine they filled the position.
-
In addition to being reasonably accurate and typically personal, the grapevine is also fast.
Academic text (1993) -
I heard through the grapevine he's been trying to contact Lucas and me.
-
Just heard through the grapevine that ABC is going to pick up The Newlywed Game.
Fiction book (2002) -
Anyway, I've heard through the office Grapevine that we do have a Rubik's Cube master here.
-
I heard through the grapevine that the company is planning to relocate its headquarters.
Synonyms
184
1.1
Informal talk about other people's private lives, often with rumors
27
7.8
Rumors people tell each other about events or people
26
2.6
Information people share by talking to each other
11
8.8
Rumor or gossip, often not confirmed and shared informally
7
4.5
A group or network that spreads gossip and stories not checked for truth
An informal way people pass news and rumors by talking
A way news or rumors spread quickly among people
Rumors people tell that are not proven true
A place or group where people spread gossip quickly
News people share that is not official, often as a rumor
Antonyms
Compounds
- Specialized
A group of climbing plants like vines that includes grape plants and similar types
How Reliable
4
2.9
- Literature
68
1.1
- Informal
27
3.5
- US
74
3.9
- Informal
184
1.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Grapevine for gossip comes from an old American phrase grapevine telegraph. One popular story says people compared the way messages moved quickly and oddly along informal lines to a twisting vine, so hearing something 'through the grapevine' means learning it by word of mouth.