Meaning trap
get around
news spreads
if news or information gets around, many people hear about it.
Don't mix these meanings
Same phrase, different job.
if news or information gets around, many people hear about it.
Another meaning of 'get around' is 'travel locally'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
It didn't take long for the news of their engagement to get around.
If something important happens in a small town, it usually gets around very quickly.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: The news got around to everyone fast.
Say: The news got around fast. / Word got around.
'Get around' (news) is intransitive — don't add 'to everyone'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Get around' (of news) is the natural idiom; the formal version is sociology.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
word/news gets around
- word
- news
- fast
- quickly
Don't confuse it
Related
Other meanings and phrases to compare.
- get around (travel locally) — Another meaning of 'get around' is 'travel locally'; compare the examples to keep the meanings separate.