to hear it on the grapevine - idiom meaning?

Question

What is the meaning of "to hear it on the grapevine" idiom?

Answer 1

 

Idiom Conjugations:

 

Answer 2

Gerund Form of the Idiom:

Hearing something on the grapevine doesn't make it the truth.
 

Answer 3

Idiom Usage:

To hear something on (through) the grapevine - gives the idea that, because the information is very informal and not necessarily the truth, the information is gossip or rumor.
 

Answer 4

Idiom Scenario 2:

Your browser does not support the audio element. Two office workers are talking ...

Worker 1: I heard that there are going to be lay-offs soon.
Worker 2: Really?  Wow, that's big news. Are we going to lose our jobs?
Worker 1: I'm not sure. I heard the news from Ted who heard it from Alice who heard it from John in the mail room.
Worker 2: Then you've only heard about these lay-offs on the grapevine?
Worker 1: Yes.
Worker 2: Then I'm not going to worry about lay-offs.  It is only a rumor.

 

Answer 5

Idiom Scenario 1:

Your browser does not support the audio element. Two teenagers are talking ...

Teen 1: Did you hear about Alicia?
Teen 2: No. What happened?
Teen 1: I heard she got caught smoking in the girl's bathroom and was expelled from school.
Teen 2: Where did you hear that?
Teen 1: I heard it through the grapevine this morning.
Teen 2:  Then we don't really know that it is true.
Teen 1: Yes, you're right.

 

Answer 6

Idiom Definition:

Your browser does not support the audio element. "to hear it on the grapevine"

to hear or learn of something informally (and thereby not necessarily accurately or representative of the truth) - usually, though not always, verbally

Synonyms: account, babble, blather, buzz, chatter, chit-chat, clothesline, conversation, dirt, earful, fiction, hearsay, innuendo, meddling, news, prate, prattle, report, rumble, rumor, scandal, scuttlebutt, story, tale, talk, tattle, tidings, whisper, wire