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:

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:

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:

"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