they say
Hearsay attribution phrase
They say introduces reported information from an unspecified source—rumor, common belief, or general wisdom: They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
The vague "they" lends authority without accountability, useful for distancing oneself from a claim: They say he was fired for misconduct.
Often signals skepticism or hearsay rather than established fact.
- rumorUnconfirmed circulating story
- rumor has itUnverified talk suggests
- gossipInformal talk spreading rumors
- whisperSpeech without full voice
- hearsayUnverified secondhand information
word · talk · murmur · allegedly · reportedly · supposedly · according to sources · legend · the story goes · folklore · old wives tale · grapevine · heard through · buzz · chatter · talk of the town · speculation · sources
- Attribution phrasesas per, based on, per, by, following
- skepticismdoubt, skeptic, doubts, debunker, doubtful
- evasionsno comment, dodge, deflection, hedging, equivocation
- gossiprumor, rumors, gossip, hearsay, whisper
- story phrasesonce upon a time, happily ever after, the end, long ago, a long time ago
they, say, them, their, theirs, themselves, says, saying, sayer