smoke (redirected from smokable)

(There's) no smoke without fire. and Where there's smoke there's fire.

Prov. There is usually some truth behind every rumor. I'm going to withdraw all my money from that bank. I read an article that the bank was in financial trouble, and where there's smoke there's fire.

See also: fire, without

go up in flames and go up in smoke 

1. Lit. to burn up completely. The entire forest went up in flames! The expensive house went up in smoke.

2. Fig. [for value or investment] to be lost suddenly and totally. Everything we own has gone up in flames with the stock crash. The entire investment went up in smoke.

See also: flame, up

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Fig. Inf. See how you like that!; It is final, and you have to live with it. Well, I'm not going to do what you want, so put that in your pipe and smoke it! I'm sick of you, and I'm leaving. Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

See also: and, pipe, put

smoke (someone, something, or an animal) out of something and smoke someone, something, or an animal out 

1. Lit. to force someone, something, or an animal out of something or a place, using smoke. The police used tear gas to smoke the kidnappers out of the house. They smoked out the crooks.

2. Fig. to drive someone or something out into public view, as if using smoke or something similar. What will it take to smoke these crooks out of government? We will smoke out the corrupt officials yet.

See also: out

smoke something up

to cause something or a place to become smoky. Get out of here with that cigarette! I don't want you smoking my house up! The burning beans sure smoked up the house.

See also: up

smoke and mirrors

deception and confusion. (Said of statements or more complicated rhetoric used to mislead people rather than inform. Alludes to the way a magician uses optical illusion to create believability while performing a trick. Fixed order.) Most people know that the politician was just using smoke and mirrors to make things look better than they really were. Her report was little more than smoke and mirrors. No one will believe any of it.

See also: and, mirror

smoke like a chimney

to smoke a great deal of tobacco or other smokable substances. My uncle smoked like a chimney when he was living. somebody who smokes like a chimney in a restaurant ought to be thrown out.

See also: like

smoke-filled room

a room where a small group of people make important decisions. (Usually used in reference to political parties.) The smoke-filled rooms are still producing the candidates for most offices, despite all the political reforms. The deal was cut in a smoke-filled room.

See also: room

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blow smoke  (American)

to say things that are not true in order to make yourself or something you are involved with seem better than it is The team put on an unbelievable performance. I'm not just blowing smoke - they were great.

See also: blow

go up in flames

to fail or come to an end suddenly and completely Final hopes of a pay settlement went up in flames yesterday after talks broke down.

See fan the flames, shoot down in flames

See also: flame, up

go up in smoke

if a plan or some work goes up in smoke, it is spoiled or wasted Then his business went bankrupt and 20 years of hard work went up in smoke.

See also: up

Put/stick that in your pipe and smoke it!  (informal)

an impolite way of telling someone that they must accept what you have just said even if they do not like it Well, I'm going anyway, so put that in your pipe and smoke it!

See also: and, pipe, put

smoke and mirrors  (American & Australian)

something which is intended to confuse or deceive people, especially by making them believe that a situation is better than it really is Smoke and mirrors made the company seem bigger and healthier than it really was. It was just clever marketing.

See also: and, mirror

smoke signals

a sign that something is probably going to happen All the smoke signals from Downing Street indicate that the taxpayer will have to pay up again. Conflicting smoke signals are coming from the the peace talks, and it is impossible to say how they are going.

See also: signal

the (big) smoke  (British & Australian)

a big city, especially London, Sydney or Melbourne So when were you last in the smoke, then?

There's no smoke without fire.  also Where there's smoke, there's fire.

something that you say which means that if people are saying that someone has done something bad but no one knows whether it is true, it probably is true He claims that they were just good friends and that they never slept together but there's no smoke without fire, that's what I say.

See blow smoke

See also: fire, without

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blow smoke

to deceive others He wanted everyone to believe he had a lot of experience, but I think he was just blowing smoke.

See also: blow

go up in smoke

to be wasted The research project was canceled, and five years of hard work went up in smoke.

Related vocabulary: go down in flames

See also: up

holy smoke

what a surprise Holy smoke! Look at all of those geese!

See also: holy

smoke somebody out

to force someone to stop hiding He didn't just walk into the police station and surrender, we had to smoke him out of hiding. To prevent such attacks, you have to smoke out the bad guys before they reach their targets.

See also: out

smoke and mirrors

something that is meant to confuse or deceive people Is this crisis just so much smoke and mirrors, or is it true that the government will run out of money?

Usage notes: usually involving a large organization rather than only one person

See also: and, mirror

smoke out something

to find something The company is trying to smoke out a buyer for its weaker divisions.

See also: out

where there's smoke, there's fire

if it looks like something is wrong, something probably is wrong People like to think where there's smoke, there's fire, so they will always believe you were involved even if you weren't.

See also: fire