Also called grapevine telegraph. a person-to-person method of spreading rumors, gossip, information, etc., by informal or unofficial conversation, letter writing, or the like.
3.
a private or secret source of information.
Origin
1645-55;1860-65, Americanism for def 2;grape + vine
Grapevine
[greyp-vahyn] /ˈgreɪpˌvaɪn/
noun
1.
a town in N Texas.
British Dictionary definitions for grapevine
grapevine
/ˈɡreɪpˌvaɪn/
noun
1.
any of several vitaceous vines of the genus Vitis, esp V. vinifera of E Asia, widely cultivated for its fruit (grapes): family Vitaceae
2.
(informal) an unofficial means of relaying information, esp from person to person
3.
a wrestling hold in which a wrestler entwines his own leg around his opponent's and exerts pressure against various joints
Word Origin and History for grapevine
n.
1736, from grape + vine. Meaning "rumor source" is 1862, U.S. Civil War slang for "telegraph wires."
Slang definitions & phrases for grapevine
grapevine
adjective
Coming from an unofficial source of rumor or news: a grapevine item/ grapevine gossip(1863+)