SMOKING GUN Definition & Meaning

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smoking gun

noun

indisputable proof or evidence of a crime.

smoking gun

noun

a piece of irrefutable incriminating evidence

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of smoking gun¹

First recorded in 1970–75

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Idioms and Phrases

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]

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

"I think this is a pretty big smoking gun. That would be, again, strong evidence that the effective management of the company was not taking place in the BVI," she said.

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Arnold declined both requests, noting the evidence was not tantamount to “a smoking gun,” such as an eyewitness claiming Mayers was the shooter.

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In both cases these companies were accused by the US of being a threat to national security - but no smoking gun was ever revealed by cyber security authorities.

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"This is the smoking gun because they're not really going after salmon in the wild," said study co-author Ben Potter, an archaeologist with the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

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Lawrence, with Sister Agnes playing His Girl Friday, obtains the smoking gun, gives the Vatican copy machine a workout and tosses the incendiary flyers to everybody at the lunch hall.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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