a mine of information

mine of information

Someone or something that contains a lot of knowledge about a particular topic. You should ask Amanda for advice about your cake recipe—she's a mine of information about baking.See also: information, mine, of

a mine of inforˈmation (about/on somebody/something)

a person, book, etc. that can give you a lot of information on a particular subject: My grandmother was a mine of information on the family’s history. ♢ People criticize television, but for children it’s a mine of information.See also: information, mine, of

mine of information, a

A good source of data. The term is sometimes used ironically: Our family privately used to describe a particular history teacher as a gold mine of misinformation (based on our children’s quotations of her dicta). The word mine has been used figuratively to mean an abundant supply since the sixteenth century. The OED quotes a 1905 issue of Athenaeum: “Her book is a mine of valuable information.”See also: mine, of