Aconteceu recentemente de você ouvir uma informação informal por aí, apenas passada de pessoa para pessoa, sem um comunicado oficial envolvido? Pois bem, em Inglês, existe uma expressão para essa situação: “through the grapevine”.
This English idiom, “through the grapevine”, directly translates to “através da videira” in Portuguese. However, don’t let the word “grapevine” confuse you. It has nothing to do with grapevines or vineyards. The actual meaning of this idiom is about information or gossip spreading informally from person to person, rather than through an official notice. It’s kind of like the game “telephone” or “Chinese whispers,” don’t you think? Who knew learning English idioms could be such a piece of cake!
Let’s look at a few examples in use. If you’ve recently heard an office rumor about a colleague leaving the company but haven’t received anything official, you might say: “I heard through the grapevine that our department head is leaving.” In Portuguese, you’d say “Ouvi dizer que nosso chefe de departamento está saindo”.
Or let’s say your friend heard some gossip at school about a break-up between mutual friends, they might say: “I heard through the grapevine that John and Jane broke up.” The equivalent in Portuguese would be, “Ouvi dizer que John e Jane terminaram”.
A final example could be if you heard rumors about a new product launch from a company but there has been no official announcement made, you might say: “I heard through the grapevine that Apple is releasing a new iPhone soon”. This would translate to “Ouvi dizer que a Apple vai lançar um novo iPhone em breve” in Portuguese.
It is quite a handy expression to use in your daily conversation. Suitable in relation to rumors, resounding echoes of ‘hear-say’, or indirectly obtained information. You may also use similar expressions such as “I heard on the street” or “word has it”.
Isn’t it interesting how expressions in English have their unique twists and turns? As an engineer would say, every idiom is like a well-designed piece of code, containing layers of logic for different scenarios.😁 Comprendido?
E aí, gostou da expressão “through the grapevine”? Conte pra gente sobre as situações onde você ouviu informações “através da videira”. Digite COMUNIDADE e venha conhecer o nosso time de especialistas em idiomáticas inglesas!