Grapevine entry

When you hear something through informal exchange, such as gossip, you 'heard it on the grapevine'. The word stems from black communities during the time of slavery and the American Civil War. The first recorded use is from April 17, 1852:

"The following important dispatch was recived [sic] by the ‘Grape Vine’ telegraph—It came to hand just in time for this week’s ‘issoo,’ and the attentive ‘operator’ at Tiffin city has our thanks for his invaluable favor.” This statement is followed by an anonymous, satirical letter to the editor, "full of outlandish misinformation about an election for township offices". (O’Conner and Kellerman)

The Motown song 'I heard it through the grapevine' by by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, uses the word as a central motif, symbolizing the spread of information and secrets within a community. In the case of the song, the information is heartbreaking.

Patricia T. O’Conner and Stewart Kellerman (2018). Roots of the grapevine. Grammarphobia. Available at: https://grammarphobia.com/blog/2018/05/grapevine-2.html