Meaning of smoking gun | Babel Free

Definitions

Evidence, particularly of a crime, that is difficult or impossible to dispute.

idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“We have⟳ a theory, but we haven't found a smoking gun yet.”

“When Prophet's place⟳ in Decatur, Georgia was raided in July 1989, there was the E911 Document, a smoking gun. And there was Prophet in the hands of the Secret Service, doing his best to "explain⟳."”

“I now turn⟳ to the role and results of our current inspections. Evidently if we had found any ‘smoking gun’ we would have⟳ reported it to the Council.”

“It's all over the blogosphere and Air America, the left-wing talk⟳ radio network: This is the smoking gun of the Iraq war. It is proof positive that President Bush was determined to invade Iraq the year before he did so”

“A Nobel prize-winning US biologist, who has been widely quoted describing a “smoking gun” to support⟳ the thesis that Covid-19 was genetically modified and escaped from a Wuhan lab, has said he overstated the case.”

“"He can weasel out if^([sic]) it." Ibanez massaged her knuckles. "He can say⟳ Couch welshed on a deal⟳, and didn't show⟳, and that's why Karen got got. It isn't conclusive. I have⟳ another thing I can lay⟳ on him, but even the two combined won't do. We need⟳ a third smoking gun if we're really gonna smoke⟳ this son of a bitch."”

CEFR level