word on the wire
- noun
- Informal
:
rumor
- She got the latest word on the wire about the upcoming event.
Examples
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Did you hear the word on the wire about the new cafe?
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There’s word on the wire that the company is hiring again.
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I heard through word on the wire that their new product launches next month.
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There's some word on the wire that the concert is sold out.
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The word on the wire is that a major announcement will be made tomorrow.
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I heard through the word on the wire that the event was canceled.
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According to the word on the wire, a new restaurant will open in the neighborhood.
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
27
3.5
Rumor spread by people talking rather than by officials
11
8.8
Rumor or gossip, often not confirmed and shared informally
1
1.9
The most recent private news or rumors about people
An informal way people pass news and rumors by talking
Rumors people tell that are not proven true
Antonyms
How Quickly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The basic idea — 'word' meaning news or rumor combined with a locative 'on the wire' (i.e. transmitted via the news/telegraph) — is partially derivable from the constituents, but it relies on the specialized/metaphorical sense of 'wire' (news/telegraph) that many B1 learners may not know. Because the meaning requires some cultural/technical knowledge about 'the wire' as a news channel, it is not fully transparent but is not wholly idiomatic either.
Etymology
The phrase word on the wire comes from the old image of a word meaning a message moving along a wire, like on a telegraph line. So today it means 'news' or 'rumor' that is being passed unofficially from person to person.