Weather & nature

Get wind of something

To hear about something secret or private, often by accident.

Examples

  • If the press gets wind of this, we'll be in trouble.
  • My sister got wind of the surprise party and pretended not to know.

How to use it

Informal. Often followed by a noun or "that": get wind of the plan.

Where it comes from

Probably from hunting: animals can detect people or danger by their smell on the wind.