Topic of the moment: gossip and rumors

Pssst, over here. Have you heard any gossip lately? Do you know the latest rumor? Oh, well that’s no fun! Maybe you need some phrases and idioms to help spark something, but first: what are ‘gossip’ and ‘rumors’, and what’s the difference?

‘Gossip’ is essentially talking about others and their personal affairs. OK, I know, perhaps the not the nicest thing to do, but we are all guilty of it from time to time. A ‘rumor’ is information that is unverified, which means we don’t know if it’s true or not. Gossip is something that is true, and rumors are not.

So how does one talk about rumors and gossip with their friends? Here are some phrases you might come across:

“Did you hear?”

“You will never guess what I just heard.”

“Have you heard that…”

“Have I got some juicy gossip for you!”

There are also some common idioms that are related to gossiping and rumors.

‘Kiss and tell’ – “Here is the latest kiss and tell about his affair” means a revealing story about someone told by an ex partner. They kissed, and now they are telling!

‘Blabbermouth’ – “Ashley is such a blabbermouth! I told her not to tell anyone!” A blabbermouth is someone who can’t keep a secret.

‘Spill the beans’ – “Just spill the beans already, I want to know what happened!” This means to share a secret.

‘Dish the dirt’ – “Is she going to dish the dirt on her new boyfriend or what?” Dishing the dirt means to reveal a negative thing about someone.

Can you keep a secret? Try these idioms for keeping your new bits of gossip under-wraps:

‘My lips are sealed’ – “Sarah, my lips are sealed. Nobody will ever know.” It means you won’t say a word.

‘To take your secret to the grave’ – “ John, you must take this secret to your grave. If anyone finds out, I will be so embarrassed.” It means to never say a word and die without telling a soul.

OK, so now that you have some good idioms and phrases, what gossip do you have? Have you heard any rumors? Promise you will share something in our next class? I will if you will….

image: S Packwood