grapevine

The grapevine is a word for gossip. Anything heard on the grapevine was learned by word of mouth.

In the Civil War, a grapevine telegraph was a gadget used for communicating. From there, people started talking about "the grapevine" as a source of information, especially gossip. If you heard from a friend of a friend that another friend is getting married, you heard it on the grapevine. If your cousin's cousin told you about a family scandal, you heard it on the grapevine. The grapevine is unofficial and full of hearsay: what you hear might not be accurate.

Definitions of grapevine

n gossip spread by spoken communication

Synonyms:: pipeline, word of mouth

Type of:: comment, gossip, scuttlebutt
a report (often malicious) about the behavior of other people

n any of numerous woody vines of genus Vitis bearing clusters of edible berries

Synonyms:: grape, grape vine

Types:: show 16 types...; hide 16 types...; Vitis labrusca, fox grape
native grape of northeastern United States; origin of many cultivated varieties e.g. Concord grapes; Vitis rotundifolia, muscadine
native grape of southeastern United States; origin of many cultivated varieties; Vitis vinifera, common grape vine, vinifera, vinifera grape
common European grape cultivated in many varieties; chief source of Old World wine and table grapes; Chardonnay, chardonnay grape
white wine grape; Pinot, Pinot grape
any of several purple or white wine grapes used especially for Burgundies and champagnes; Sauvignon grape
small blue-black grape of Medoc region of France highly prized in winemaking; Cabernet Sauvignon grape
superior red wine grapes grown especially in the Bordeaux region of France and northern California; Sauvignon blanc
white wine grape grown in California; Merlot
black wine grape originally from the region of Bordeaux; Muscadet
white grape grown especially in the valley the Loire in France; Riesling
white grape grown in Europe and California; Zinfandel
small black grape grown chiefly in California; transplanted from Europe; Chenin blanc
white grape grown especially in California and the lower Loire valley of France; malvasia
used to make malmsey wine; muscat, muskat
any of several cultivated grapevines that produce sweet white grapes; Verdicchio
a variety of white wine grape grown in Italy

Type of:: vine
a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface

n gossip spread by spoken communication

n any of numerous woody vines of genus Vitis bearing clusters of edible berries

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