Some Say 'There's No Smoke Without Fire'
2021-01-10
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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.
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. I've heard that this bank is going under.
15It could be just gossip.
16But usually, there's no smoke without fire.
17In other words, there must be at least some truth to all the talk.
18The logic is this: If many people are saying that something bad is happening, it could be partly true.
19We say this idiom several ways.
20You can say, "there's no smoke without fire."
21Or you can say, "where there's smoke there's fire."
22You can even simply say, "where there's smoke..." without continuing the rest of the sentence. People will definitely understand your meaning.
23Here is another example.
24Hey, I hear you're going out with that new guy at work.
25We just went for a long walk together. That's about it.
26Well, be careful. Rumor has it that he is bad news.
27What kind of bad news?
28Well, he's been married before.
29So. It's no crime to have a failed marriage.
30Right. But he's been married FOUR times.
31My cousin knows a former wife of his. She says he owes money all over town.
32This is just gossip.
33Look, I'm just saying be careful. Where there's smoke. Yeah, you know.
34And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories.
35Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo!
1And now, Words and Their Stories, from VOA Learning English. 2On this program we explore words and sayings in American English. 3Today 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. 4Before we continue, let's talk about two words often used to explain this idiom: rumor and gossip. 5Rumors 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. 6One meaning of "there's no Smoke without fire" is that rumors and gossip often have some truth behind them. 7If 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. 8Here's an example: 9I think we should start looking for another job. I've heard that this bank is going under. 10It could be just gossip. 11But usually, there's no smoke without fire. 12In 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. 13We 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 continuing the rest of the sentence. People will definitely understand your meaning. 14Here is another example. 15Hey, I hear you're going out with that new guy at work. 16We just went for a long walk together. That's about it. 17Well, be careful. Rumor has it that he is bad news. 18What kind of bad news? 19Well, he's been married before. 20So. It's no crime to have a failed marriage. 21Right. But he's been married FOUR times. My cousin knows a former wife of his. She says he owes money all over town. 22This is just gossip. 23Look, I'm just saying be careful. Where there's smoke. Yeah, you know. 24And that brings us to the end of this Words and Their Stories. 25Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo! 26Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 27________________________________________________________________ 28Words in This Story 29idiom - n. an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a separate meaning of its own 30rumor - n. information or a story that is passed from person to person but has not been proven to be true 31gossip - n. casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details that are not confirmed as being true. 32word on the street - idiom what people are saying 33going under - v. to be overwhelmed, destroyed, or defeated 34logic - n. a proper or reasonable way of thinking about something : sound reasoning 35rumor has it - idiom the information or story that is going around is