- Meaning
- This idiom describes attempting to deceive, manipulate, or profit from an intangible or illusory promise, as if trying to sell smoke—an ephemeral, ungraspable substance—to the wind, which cannot be swayed or contained. It conveys the futility or audacity of peddling falsehoods or unattainable dreams, often used in business, political, or social contexts to critique scams, empty rhetoric, or exploitative schemes. The phrase carries a tone of cynicism, mockery, or sharp rebuke, reflecting cultural disdain for dishonesty and the human tendency to exploit trust with vague assurances. It resonates in scenarios of fraud or grandiose promises, capturing the absurdity of selling the unsellable, and its elemental imagery adds a layer of poetic scorn, evoking smoke’s fleeting nature. The idiom often warns against gullibility, making it a biting metaphor for exposing or challenging deceitful ventures.
- Origin
- The phrase likely emerged in 18th-century Britain, inspired by alchemical and marketplace scams where charlatans sold ‘miraculous’ but worthless goods, as noted in trade records. Its earliest recorded use appears in a 1741 *The London Magazine* satire, mocking a swindler ‘selling smoke to the wind.’ The idiom gained traction in the 19th century, reflecting Enlightenment skepticism of quackery, as seen in Jonathan Swift’s *Gulliver’s Travels* (1726), which critiques deception. Its use grew in 20th-century British and American English, particularly in financial and political journalism, amplified by media like *The New York Times* during the 1929 stock market crash, exposing speculative frauds. The phrase’s adoption in Commonwealth English came through British influence, and its spread was fueled by its evocative imagery, blending smoke and wind, and its applicability to deceit, ensuring its enduring use across English-speaking cultures, from Ponzi schemes to political spin.
- Variants
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- Selling Smoke to the Wind
- Sell Smoke to the Wind
- Peddling Smoke to the Wind
- Smoke to the Wind
- Examples
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- He’s selling smoke to the wind, promising returns on a nonexistent product.
- Sell smoke to the wind, and you’ll lose trust with those empty pledges.
- Peddling smoke to the wind, the politician hyped an unfeasible plan.
- Smoke to the wind, their startup pitch was all hype, no substance.
- Selling smoke to the wind, she lured investors with fake projections.
- Peddling smoke to the wind, his campaign promises fell apart under scrutiny.
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