Englishby word of mouth
Meaning: The informal, verbal passing of information from one person to another.
Example: “The little café never advertises; it grew entirely by word of mouth.”
Equivalents in other languages
Russian: сарафанное радио (sarafannoe radio) Literally: Sarafan radio
Origin: "Mouth" itself traces back to Old English mūð, and pairing it with "word" to mean spoken rather than written communication is old enough that the Oxford English Dictionary's earliest citation, from the writer Reginald Pecock, dates to around 1456. A clearer, more deliberate use turns up a century later in Nicholas Udall's play Ralph Roister Doister (c. 1553): "a little message unto hir by worde of mouth," specifically distinguishing a spoken message from a written one. The phrase has needed no updating since — news and reputation still travel person to person exactly the way it describes.
More English idioms
- eat one's heart out To suffer silently in a hopeless situation.
- eat out of someone's hand To be submissive; to have someone eating out of one's hand means to get someone to be sub…
- fight tooth and nail To fight fiercely; to fight with everything you have.
- fine-tooth comb An imaginary device one uses to look for something very carefully.
- get a leg up To make a good start on some activity or project.
- get it in the neck To receive something unpleasant, such as criticism or punishment.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
- She sells seashells by the seashore. The definitive 's' versus 'sh' alternation — the tongue has to switch place of articulati…
- Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A relentless 'p' plosive drill; a peck is an old dry measure of about nine litres.
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