smoking gun


noun

indisputable proof or evidence of a crime.

Origin of smoking gun

First recorded in 1970–75

Example sentences from the Web for smoking gun

British Dictionary definitions for smoking gun

smoking gun

noun

a piece of irrefutable incriminating evidence

Idioms and Phrases with smoking gun

smoking gun

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]