smoking gun
indisputable proof or evidence of a crime.
Origin of smoking gun
1Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use smoking gun in a sentence
The concept is that the use of human embryonic cells in the manufacture of vaccines is the smoking gun—a major cause of autism.
It was an interesting piece of information for those watching the investigation closely—but nowhere approaching a smoking gun.
How The Bridgegate Investigation Ground to a Halt—And Let Chris Christie Zoom Off to Iowa | Olivia Nuzzi | July 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFor them, the smoking gun was the personality—not the smokes.
Thank You for Smoking: How Big Tobacco Created the ‘Type A’ Personality Myth | Kent Sepkowitz | July 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWithin the 907 documents Wildstein turned over was a smoking gun.
Christie Aides Can Keep Bridgegate Emails Under Wraps | Olivia Nuzzi | April 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTTo an extent, but I think only to an extent—because if he is exonerated, it will happen only because no one found a smoking gun.
He was a good judge of men, that eagle-faced major; he knew that the slightest move with hostile intent would mean a smoking gun.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairWith a proud smile the old woman stood the smoking gun against the wall and straightened her cap.
The Backwoodsmen | Charles G. D. RobertsJim thrust his smoking gun into his belt and caught Craig by the arm.
The Black Box | E. Phillips OppenheimHe looked up and beheld the girl about whom he had been thinking, every muscle tense, a smoking gun still against her shoulder.
Meg of Mystery Mountain | Grace May NorthHe saw Campbell standing on the hill waving his still smoking gun.
Kentucky's Famous Feuds and Tragedies | Chas. G Mutzenberg
British Dictionary definitions for smoking gun
a piece of irrefutable incriminating evidence
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with smoking gun
Something that serves as indisputable evidence or proof, especially of a crime. For example, There is no smoking gun in the Oval Office; the President had no role in tampering with the evidence. This expression alludes to the smoke coming from a recently discharged firearm, a normal occurrence until the invention of smokeless powder. [Mid-1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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