'No Smoke Without Fire'
2020-11-15
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1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English.
2On this program we explore words and sayings in American English a little deeper.
3Today we talk about fire.
4Any kind of fire - from a campfire to a lit match - gives off smoke.
5This fact about fire relates to today's idiom:
6There is no smoke without fire.
7Before we continue, let's talk about two words often used to explain this idiom: rumor and gossip.
8Rumors and gossip are stories or pieces of information that are passed from person to person but have not been proven to be true.
9They are often about something bad.
10One meaning of "there's no smoke without fire" is that rumors and gossip often have some truth behind them.
11If the word on the street is that something is really bad, it just might be.
12Or if you hear unpleasant things about someone or something from many different people, there may be some truth to it. Maybe.
13Here's an example:
14I think we should start looking for another job.
15I've heard that this bank is going under.
16It could just be gossip.
17But usually there's no smoke without fire.
18In other words, there must be at least some truth to all the talk.
19The logic is this: If many people are saying that something bad is happening, it could be partly true.
20We say this idiom several ways.
21You can say, "there's no smoke without fire."
22Or you can say, "where there's smoke there's fire."
23You can even simply say, "where there's smoke..." without finishing the rest of the sentence.
24People will definitely understand your meaning.
25Here is another example.
26Hey, I hear you're going out with that new guy at work.
27We went for a long walk together. That's about it.
28Well, be careful. Rumor has it that he is bad news.
29What kind of bad news?
30Well, he's been married before.
31So. There's no crime against having a marriage that didn't work out.
32Right. But he's been married four times.
33My cousin knows a former wife of his. She says the guy owes money all over town.
34This is all just gossip.
35Look, I'm just saying be careful. Where there's smoke ... yeah, you know.
36And that brings us to the end of this week's Words and Their Stories.
37Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. On this program we explore words and sayings in American English a little deeper. 2Today we talk about fire. Any kind of fire - from a campfire to a lit match - gives off smoke. This fact about fire relates to today's idiom: There is no smoke without fire. 3Before we continue, let's talk about two words often used to explain this idiom: rumor and gossip. 4Rumors and gossip are stories or pieces of information that are passed from person to person but have not been proven to be true. They are often about something bad. 5One meaning of "there's no smoke without fire" is that rumors and gossip often have some truth behind them. 6If the word on the street is that something is really bad, it just might be. Or if you hear unpleasant things about someone or something from many different people, there may be some truth to it. Maybe. 7Here's an example: 8I think we should start looking for another job. I've heard that this bank is going under. It could just be gossip. But usually there's no smoke without fire. 9In other words, there must be at least some truth to all the talk. The logic is this: If many people are saying that something bad is happening, it could be partly true. 10We say this idiom several ways. You can say, "there's no smoke without fire." Or you can say, "where there's smoke there's fire." You can even simply say, "where there's smoke..." without finishing the rest of the sentence. People will definitely understand your meaning. 11Here is another example. 12Hey, I hear you're going out with that new guy at work. 13We went for a long walk together. That's about it. 14Well, be careful. Rumor has it that he is bad news. 15What kind of bad news? 16Well, he's been married before. 17So. There's no crime against having a marriage that didn't work out. 18Right. But he's been married four times. My cousin knows a former wife of his. She says the guy owes money all over town. 19This is all just gossip. 20Look, I'm just saying be careful. Where there's smoke ... yeah, you know. 21And that brings us to the end of this week's Words and Their Stories. 22Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo! 23Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 24_______________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26idiom - n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own 27rumor - n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true 28gossip - n. casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. 29word on the street - idiom what people are saying 30going under - v. to be overwhelmed, destroyed, or defeated 31logic - n. a proper or reasonable way of thinking about something : sound reasoning 32rumor has it - idiom the information or story that is going around is