in the know
- idiom
- Informal
- But to those in the know, this is the most advanced facility of its kind in the world.
A lot of feedback from those of you in the know re dinosaurs.
- A lot of feedback from those of you in the know re dinosaurs.
- I don't remember that they were in the know about what he's doing.
- You know, the people who are really in the know don't don't see things that way.
- You want to seem in the know.
- My wife really misses being in the know.
- You read the comments and then you make references to being in the know.
- Because if you're in the know, you're already in a criminal position.
- OK, so let me show you some tweets of people who claim to be in the know.
- People like to be the one who's in the know, who gets to tell us about the cool stuff that's going on.
- I just think my friends who are in the know tell me that Bitcoin is still the old dog, the best one to buy.
- And if you're already a VIP member, then well, any day of the you get special discounts and stuff and you get to be in the know.
- So accept it, disregard it unless they have a good opinion and that good opinion comes from somebody in the know.
- Those who are in the know, know, but when it comes to measuring the performance of a graphics card, FPS is just part of the story.
- And since many human resource programs are not in the know about these patterns, there can be little recourse when you're facing up against this kind of abuse in the workplace.
Examples
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Talk to those in the know.
Academic text (2004) -
As a journalist, being in the know allows her to write articles that capture the latest trends.
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When we're in the know, we'll let you know.
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But before we do any of that, we have to find someone in the know.
Fiction book (2001) -
Access is easy, but being in the know is extremely hard.
Blog text (10) -
Following them on Twitter and Facebook is a good way to stay in the know.
Blog text (15) -
I surely hope you take the time to listen to this from a gal in the know.
Blog text (11) -
She's street smart and has that "in the know" look about her.
Fiction book (2000) -
When it comes to couponing, it pays to remain in the know.
Blog text (7) -
GitHub is great for those in the know, and the template looks understandable enough.
Blog text (7)
Synonyms
To be aware of what is happening
To be aware of and take part in a secret plan
Knowing secret information that few people have
Knowing what is happening in a group or project
To understand a situation or subject well
Someone who knows a lot about a subject because they have the facts
Antonyms
How Informed
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'having insider information' is directly inferable from combining 'in' (inside) with 'know' (knowledge) — essentially being 'inside knowledge'. The determiner 'the' does not obscure the sense, and the concept of being 'in' a state of knowledge is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand this phrase.
Etymology
The phrase in the know paints a simple picture: someone who is in a small group that know the important facts. So it means 'having special information'.