The (Big) Smoke
informal noun phrase

- a large city, especially London

Cambridge Dictionary

—
ORIGIN

Ever since the late 19th century ‘The Big Smoke’ was a popular term among visitors from rural areas. As they approached London they saw a thick smoke enveloping the city, which was largely caused by the burning of coal.

Only in 1956 with the introduction of 'The Clean Air Act' – which stipulated that only smokeless fuels could be burnt in towns and cities – did the air of London finally improve. Despite much cleaner air in the 21st century, the nation’s capital is still sometimes referred to as ‘The Big Smoke’.

—
SYNONYMS

conurbation, metropolis, megalopolis, megacity, cosmopolis, concrete jungle, urban sprawl

—
IDIOMS with the word smoke

- Smoke like a chimney = to smoke tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, etc.) heavily.

- Put that in your pipe and smoke it! = a rude or unsympathetic way of telling someone that they must accept what you have just said, even if they do not like it.

- Where there’s smoke there’s fire = there is always some element of truth behind every rumour.

- Holy smoke! = a way of expressing surprise.

- Smoking gun = information which proves that someone is guilty of committing a crime.

- Smoke and mirrors = something said or done in order to deceive or confuse.

—
PRACTICE OWAD in an English conversation, discuss something like:

“At the tender age of eighteen I left the small town of my birth and moved to THE BIG SMOKE .”

—
THANKS to Florian for suggesting today’s word

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

Paul Smith