hint (redirected from taking the hint)

hint  (hnt)

n.

1. A slight indication or intimation: wanted to avoid any hint of scandal.

2.

a. A brief or indirect suggestion; a tip: stock-trading hints.

b. A statement conveying information in an indirect fashion; a clue: Give me a hint about the big news.

3. A barely perceptible amount: just a hint of color.

4. Archaic An occasion; an opportunity.

v. hint·ed, hint·ing, hints

v.tr.

To indicate or make known in an indirect manner.

v.intr.

To give a hint: wouldn't hint at the true purpose of the meeting. See Synonyms at suggest.

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[Probably from Middle English hinten, henten, to catch, grasp, from Old English hentan.]

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hinter n.

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hint [hɪnt]

n

1. a suggestion or implication given in an indirect or subtle manner he dropped a hint

2. a helpful piece of advice or practical suggestion

3. a small amount; trace

vb

(when intr, often foll by at; when tr, takes a clause as object) to suggest or imply indirectly

[of uncertain origin]

hinter  n

hinting  n

hintingly  adv

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hint

• adumbrate - Means "to give a sketchy outline or disclose only in part; hint," and its root is Latin umbra, "shadow."
• allude, refer - To allude is to "mention indirectly, hint at," and to refer is to "mention directly."
• infer, imply - Infer means "to deduce, reason," and imply means "to hint at, suggest."
• inkle, inkling - To inkle is to communicate in an undertone or whisper, to give a hint of something, which gives us inkling.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	hint - an indirect suggestion; "not a breath of scandal ever touched her" intimation, breath proffer, proposition, suggestion - a proposal offered for acceptance or rejection; "it was a suggestion we couldn't refuse"
	2.	hint - a slight indication                   clue indicant, indication - something that serves to indicate or suggest; "an indication of foul play"; "indications of strain"; "symptoms are the prime indicants of disease"
	3.	hint - a slight but appreciable amount; "this dish could use a touch of garlic" mite, soupcon, tinge, jot, speck, pinch, touch small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude snuff - a pinch of smokeless tobacco inhaled at a single time
	4.	hint - a just detectable amount; "he speaks French with a trace of an accent" trace, suggestion small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude spark - a small but noticeable trace of some quality that might become stronger; "a spark of interest"; "a spark of decency"
	5.	hint - an indication of potential opportunity; "he got a tip on the stock market"; "a good lead for a job" confidential information, steer, tip, wind, lead counseling, counselling, guidance, counsel, direction - something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action
Verb	1.	hint - drop a hint; intimate by a hint suggest intimate, adumbrate, insinuate - give to understand; "I insinuated that I did not like his wife" clue in - provide someone with a clue; "Can you clue me in?" convey - make known; pass on, of information; "She conveyed the message to me" allude, advert, touch - make a more or less disguised reference to; "He alluded to the problem but did not mention it"

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hint

noun

1. clue, mention, suggestion, implication, indication, reminder, tip-off, pointer, allusion, innuendo, inkling, intimation, insinuation, word to the wise I'd dropped a hint about having an exhibition of his work.

2. (often plural) advice, help, tip(s), suggestion(s), pointer(s) I'm hoping to get some fashion hints.

3. trace, touch, suggestion, taste, breath, dash, whisper, suspicion, tinge, whiff, speck, undertone, soupçon (French) I glanced at her and saw no hint of irony on her face.

verb

(sometimes with at) suggest, mention, indicate, imply, intimate, tip off, let it be known, insinuate, allude to the fact, tip the wink (informal) The President hinted he might make some changes in the government.

Translations

hint [hɪnt]

A. N

1. (= suggestion) → indirecta f, insinuación f; (= advice) → consejo m
hints for purchasers → consejos mpl a los compradores
hints on maintenance → instrucciones fpl para la manutención
broad hint → indicación f inconfundible
to drop a hint → soltar or tirar una indirecta
to drop a hint that → insinuar que ...
give me a hint → dame una idea
to take a hint → captar una indirecta
take a hint from me → permite que te dé un consejo
to take the hint (unspoken) → tomar algo a corazón; (spoken) → darse por aludido

2. (= trace) → señal f, indicio m
without the least hint of → sin la menor señal de
with just a hint of garlic → con un ligerísimo sabor a ajo
with a hint of irony → con un dejo de ironía

B. VT → dar a entender, insinuar
he hinted that I had a good chance of getting the job → insinuó que tenía muchas posibilidades de conseguir el trabajo

C. VI → soltar indirectas

hint at VI + PREP → referirse indirectamente a, hacer alusión a
what are you hinting at? → ¿qué estás insinuando?

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hint [ˈhɪnt]

n

(= allusion) → allusion f
to drop a hint → faire une allusion
to give a hint that ... (= suggest that) → laisser entendre que ...
to give a strong hint that ... → laisser clairement entendre que ...
The Minister gave a strong hint that the government had changed its mind → Le ministre a laissé clairement entendre que le gouvernement avait changé d'avis.
give me a hint (= clue) → mettez-moi sur la voie, donnez-moi une indication
to take the hint → comprendre l'allusion
He took the hint and left her alone → Il comprit l'allusion et la laissa tranquille.
He can't take a hint → Il est incapable de comprendre une allusion.
I can take a hint!
BUT L'allusion ne m'a pas échappé !.

(= advice) → conseil m
handy hints → conseils pratiques

(= small amount, trace) [flavour, colour] → touche f; [sarcasm, irony] → touche f, trace f
I glanced at her and saw no hint of irony on her face → Je la regardai mais ne décelai aucune trace d'ironie sur son visage.
a hint of a smile → un soupçon de sourire

vt
to hint (that) ... (= suggest) → laisser entendre que ...
He hinted that I had a good chance of getting the job → Il m'a laissé entendre que j'avais de bonnes chances d'obtenir ce poste.

vi
to hint at the possibility of sth [person] → évoquer la possibilité de qch, évoquer l'éventualité de qch
The government are hinting at the possibility of a referendum → Le gouvernement évoque la possibilité d'un référendum.
What are you hinting at? → Qu'est-ce que vous voulez dire par là ?

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hint

n

(= intimation, suggestion) → Andeutung f, → Hinweis m; a strong hint → ein deutlicher Hinweis; a subtle hint → ein zarter Wink; to give a/no hint of something → etw ahnen lassen or andeuten/nicht ahnen lassen or andeuten; to give or drop somebody a hint → jdm einen Wink geben, jdm gegenüber eine Andeutung machen; he was given a gentle hint about attention to detail → man hat ihm leise angedeutet or den leisen Wink gegeben, auf Details zu achten; to throw out or drop a hint → eine Andeutung machen, eine Bemerkung fallen lassen; to know how to take a hint → einen Wink verstehen; OK, I can take a hint → schon recht, ich verstehe or ich habe den Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl verstanden (inf); I’ve almost run out of this perfume, hint, hint → ich habe fast nichts mehr von dem Parfüm, hörst du?

(= trace) → Spur f; a hint of garlic → eine Spur Knoblauch; a hint of irony → ein Hauch m → von Spott; with just a hint of sadness in his smile → mit einem leichten Anflug von Traurigkeit in seinem Lächeln; with the hint of a smile → mit dem Anflug eines Lächelns; not a hint of emotion → keinerlei Gefühl; a hint of desperation → ein Anflug m → von Verzweiflung; at the first hint of trouble → beim ersten Zeichen von Ärger; there was no hint of apology in his voice → seine Stimme klang überhaupt nicht entschuldigend

(= tip, piece of advice) → Tipp m; hints for travellers (Brit) or travelers (US) → Reisetipps pl; I’ll give you a hint, the answer has two words → ich gebe dir einen Tipp or Hinweis, die Antwort besteht aus zwei Wörtern

vt → andeuten (to gegenüber); what are you hinting? → was wollen Sie damit sagen or andeuten?; he hinted strongly that … → er gab deutlich zu verstehen, dass …

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hint [hɪnt]

1. n (suggestion) → allusione f, accenno; (advice) → consiglio
hints on do-it-yourself → consigli pratici per il fai-da-te
a gentle hint → una velata allusione
to give sb a broad hint → far capire chiaramente a qn
to drop a hint → lasciar capire
to take the hint → capire l'antifona
with a hint of irony/sadness → con una punta d'ironia/tristezza
give me a hint (clue) → dammi almeno un'idea, dammi un'indicazione

2. vt to hint (to sb) that ... → lasciar capire (a qn) che...

hint at vi + prep → accennare a, alludere a, fare allusione a
just what are you hinting at? → cosa vuoi insinuare?

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hint

n hint [hint]

1 a statement that passes on information without giving it openly or directly He didn't actually say he wanted more money, but he dropped a hint. skimp, te kenne gee تَلْميح، إشاره خَفِيَّه намек narážka antydning; vink die Andeutung υπαινιγμός, νύξη insinuación, indirecta vihje اشاره vihjaus allusion רֶמֶז संकेत mig, aluzija célzás isyarat vísbending allusione 暗示 암시, 힌트 užuomina mājiens bayangan hint an-/hentydning, hint, ymt aluzja sugestão aluzie намёк narážka, pokyn namig nagoveštaj vink, antydning การบอกใบ้ ima, üstü kapalı söz 暗示 натяк اشارہ lời gợi ý 暗示

2 a helpful suggestion I can give you some useful gardening hints. wenk إقْتراح مفيد полезен съвет rada råd; tip der Fingerzeig υπόδειξη indicación, sugerencia näpunäide تذكر vinkki conseil עֵצָה उपयोगी सलाह sugestija, savjet útmutatás saran ábending, ráð consiglio, suggerimento 心得 요령 patarimas norādījums; padoms petua tip råd og vink wskazówka, rada sugestão sugestie; indiciu совет rada napotek savet tips การเตือน yararlı öğüt, tavsiye 線索 порада مشورہ lời mách nước 线索

3 a very small amount; a slight impression There was a hint of fear in his voice. tikkie, sweem كميّه قليله،إشارة خفيفه малко количество odstín, náznak antydning der Anflug ίχνος, πολύ μικρή ποσότητα indicio aimus چيز خيلي جزيی aavistus soupçon שֶׁמֶץ सूचना trunak (csekély) nyoma vminek sedikit vottur, ögn pizzico, ombra わずか 미량 šešėlis drusciņa; kripatiņa tanda zweem hint, antydning cień toque urmă налёт, оттенок náznak za spoznanje trag aning, gnutta การพูดเป็นนัย bir nebze, biraz 帶點…，稍微顯露出… відтінок بہت تھوڑی سی مقدار dấu hiệu lờ mờ 点滴，微小的

v

to (try to) pass on information without stating it openly or directly He hinted that he would like more money; He hinted at possible changes. op iets sinspeel, skimp يُلَمِّح намеквам naznačit; narážet (na) antyde andeuten υπαινίσσομαι, κάνω νύξη insinuar, dar a entender vihjama تلويحآ گفتن vihjata laisser entendre (que) לִרמוֹז संकेत देना aludirati, ciljati na céloz(gat) vmire mengisyaratkan gefa í skyn insinuare, accennare ほのめかす 넌지시 비치다 užsiminti, padaryti užuominą dot mājienu membayang-bayangkan een hint geven, laten doorschemeren antyde, ymte noe om napomykać sugerir a lăsa să se înţeleagă (că) намекать naznačiť namigniti nagovestiti antyda, låta ana เกริ่น ima etmek, üstü kapalı söylemek 暗示 натякати اشارہ کرنا nói bóng gió 暗示

take a/the hint

to understand a hint and act on it I keep making jokes to my secretary about her coming to work late every day, but she never takes the hint. die skimp/wenk verstaan يَفْهَم التَّلميح разбирам намек pochopit narážku forstå en hentydning einen Wink verstehen μπαίνω στο νόημα darse por aludido, comprender la indirecta vihjet mõistma متوجه کنایه شدن ymmärtää vihje saisir l'allusion לְהָבִין אֶת הַרֶמֶז संकेत समझना और उसपर अमल करना shvatiti mig i shodno postupiti veszi a lapot menangkap isyarat skilja og bregðast við ábendingu capire al volo それとなく分かる 눈치채다 suprasti užuominą saprast mājienu mengerti apa yg dibayangkan een hint begrijpen en ter harte nemen forstå vinket/hintet/en halvkvedet vise zrozumieć aluzję enfiar a carapuça a înţelege aluzia понять намёк pochopiť narážku razumeti namig shvatiti znak förstå vinken เข้าใจความหมายแฝงและปฏิบัติตาม imayı anlamak, durumu sezmek 懂提示 зрозуміти натяк اشارہ سمجھ کر اس پر عمل کرنا hiểu và thực hiện điều gợi ý 领会

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hint → تلميح, يَرْمُز إلى narážet, narážka antyde, praj andeuten, Andeutung υπαινιγμός, υπαινίσσομαι insinuación, insinuar vihjata, vihje indice, laisser entendre nagovijestiti, nagovještaj suggerimento, suggerire ヒント, ほのめかす 암시하다, 힌트 aanwijzingen geven, hint hint, hinte podpowiedź, podpowiedzieć dar uma dica, dica намек, намекать antyda, vink การบอกใบ้, บอกใบ้ ima, imada bulunmak gợi ý 暗示