smoke out

verb

1. to subject to smoke in order to drive out of hiding

2. to bring into the open; expose to the public

   they smoked out the plot

Idioms and Phrases

Expose, reveal, bring to public view, as in Reporters thrive on smoking out a scandal. This expression alludes to driving a person or animal out of a hiding place by filling it with smoke. [Late 1500s]

Example Sentences

Police and firefighters fenced off the area and a beekeeper was called in to smoke out the bees - a safe way to calm the insects.

From BBC

Because people get pretty testy when you accidentally smoke out an elementary school or old folks home, burn plans have to clear substantial hurdles presented by the California Environmental Quality Act and air quality regulators.

From Los Angeles Times

They restricted the flow of food and water into the mine in an attempt to "smoke out" the workers, as one South African minister put it.

From BBC

As part of the operation, the police limited the amount of food and water that went down the Stilfontein mine to, as one minister put it, "smoke out" the illegal miners.

From BBC

Near the coast, the Palisades fire chewed through the Santa Monica Mountains and reduced dream houses with Pacific views to their foundations, sending a jetstream of smoke out to the ocean.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• catch 
• come upon 
• design 
• detect 
• determine 
• devise 
• disclose 
• explore 
• hear 
• identify 
• invent 
• learn 
• locate 
• notice 
• observe 
• realize 
• recognize 
• reveal 
• see 
• spot