smoke out
to expose or reveal something which was previously hidden
TRANSLATION
smoke out (fig.) = aufspüren smoke out = ausräuchern --- GOOGLE INDEX smoke out: approximately 3,700,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
nvestigators SMOKE OUT accused cigarette thief
(Sun Sentinel newspaper, Florida)
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Firefighters have criticised the actions of a woman who set her house on fire while trying to SMOKE OUT a wasps nest in her home.
(BBC news)
(Sun Sentinel newspaper, Florida)
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Firefighters have criticised the actions of a woman who set her house on fire while trying to SMOKE OUT a wasps nest in her home.
(BBC news)
Did you
know?
smoke out
phrasal verb
— (fig.) to detect and bring to public view; expose or reveal
— to force out of a place of hiding or concealment by the use of smoke
(American Heritage Dictionary)
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The figurative sense of "smoke out" derives from the literal sense, as in using smoke to drive a person or an animal out of hiding. Police sometimes use this tactic to force a criminal suspect to come out of a hiding place, often times utilizing tear gas for instance. Military units tasked with hunting down terrorists also deploy this technique.
The word smoke stems from the Old English "smoca," a relative of "smeocan," meaning to give off smoke. Smoke is used in several other expressions, a sample of which can be found below:
— where there is smoke, there is fire = there is usually some truth to every rumour (I don't know if he really got fired because of false expense reports, but where there's smoke there's fire)
— go up in smoke = to be suddenly and totally lost (The new venture in Asia went up in smoke last week)
— smoke and mirrors = deception, confusion or tricks (Beware of door-to-door salesmen. Some are known to use smoke and mirrors.)
— blow smoke = to say things that are not true or to exaggerate them (He was blowing smoke when he said he graduated from Cambridge with honours)
— holy smoke! = what a surprise! (Holy smoke, look at those storm clouds on the horizon)
— the Big Smoke = a nickname applied to a number of large cities with reputations for smog and industrial air pollution such as London, Manchester, Belfast, Dublin and Glasgow
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SYNONYMS
expose, reveal, uncover, smell out, uncover, unearth
--
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We need to smoke out the people responsible for stealing the goods."
phrasal verb
— (fig.) to detect and bring to public view; expose or reveal
— to force out of a place of hiding or concealment by the use of smoke
(American Heritage Dictionary)
---
The figurative sense of "smoke out" derives from the literal sense, as in using smoke to drive a person or an animal out of hiding. Police sometimes use this tactic to force a criminal suspect to come out of a hiding place, often times utilizing tear gas for instance. Military units tasked with hunting down terrorists also deploy this technique.
The word smoke stems from the Old English "smoca," a relative of "smeocan," meaning to give off smoke. Smoke is used in several other expressions, a sample of which can be found below:
— where there is smoke, there is fire = there is usually some truth to every rumour (I don't know if he really got fired because of false expense reports, but where there's smoke there's fire)
— go up in smoke = to be suddenly and totally lost (The new venture in Asia went up in smoke last week)
— smoke and mirrors = deception, confusion or tricks (Beware of door-to-door salesmen. Some are known to use smoke and mirrors.)
— blow smoke = to say things that are not true or to exaggerate them (He was blowing smoke when he said he graduated from Cambridge with honours)
— holy smoke! = what a surprise! (Holy smoke, look at those storm clouds on the horizon)
— the Big Smoke = a nickname applied to a number of large cities with reputations for smog and industrial air pollution such as London, Manchester, Belfast, Dublin and Glasgow
---
SYNONYMS
expose, reveal, uncover, smell out, uncover, unearth
--
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"We need to smoke out the people responsible for stealing the goods."
