talking idioms

talking idioms

Talk
talk nineteen to the dozen = talk fast: \”She was so excited that she was talking nineteen to the dozen.\”

talk the hind legs off a donkey = talk without stopping: \”She can talk the hind legs off a donkey!\”

talk something through / over = to discuss something: \”Before we decide anything, I think we ought to talk it through.\”

talk something up = to make something appear more important: \”She really talked the idea up, but I don\’t think that everyone was convinced.\”

talk someone into doing = to persuade someone: \”He talked her into buying a new car.\”

talk someone through something = give step-by-step instructions: \”She talked him through the procedure.\”

talk down to = talk in a condescending way: \”Don\’t talk down to me! I understand you perfectly well.\”

talk back = respond to someone in authority in a rude way: \”Don\’t talk back to your mother!\”

This is similar to back chat: \”I don\’t want any back chat from you!\”

talk under your breath = talk quietly so that nobody can hear you: \”They talked under their breath in the meeting.\”

talk rubbish = not to speak logically: \”He talks complete rubbish sometimes!\”
Also talk through your arse (British slang and quite rude): \”You\’re talking through your arse again. You know nothing about it!\”

talk at cross purposes = when two people don\’t understand each other because they are talking about two different things (but don\’t realise it): \”We\’re talking at cross purposes here.\”

talk / speak with a plum in your mouth = talk with a posh (=upper class) accent: \”She talks with a plum in her mouth!\”

talk around the subject = not get to the point: \”He didn\’t want to say they were in danger of losing their jobs, so he talked around the subject for half an hour.\”

talk highly of someone = praise someone: \”He talks very highly of you!\”

to give someone a talking-to = when you talk to someone because you are angry with them: \”His boss gave him a real talking-to yesterday!\”

talk to yourself = to speak to yourself, maybe because you are concentrating on something: \”Are you talking to yourself again?\”

to be like talking to a brick wall = to not have any effect on someone: \”Sometimes talking to him is like talking to a brick wall!\”

talk your way out of something = get out of a difficult situation by giving a clever explanation: \”Whew! I think I managed to talk our way out of that one!\”

straight talking = honest words: \”I want some straight talking around here!\”

talk shop = talk about work in a social situation: \”Whenever I go out with my colleagues, we always end up talking shop.\”

Chat
to chat someone up = to talk to someone because you are attracted to them: \”He went to a party and chatted up every woman.\”

a chatterbox = someone who talks a lot, but not saying anything important: \”She\’s a bit of a chatterbox at work.\”

chit-chat = social conversation about unimportant subjects: \”Enough of the chit-chat! I have to get on with some work.\”

Word
to have a word with someone = to talk to someone about something you are not happy with: \”I\’m going to have a word with him about his kids\’ behaviour.\”

to not have a good word to say about someone = to always criticise: \”She never has a good word to say about the Browns.\”

a word in your ear = something you say before you give some advice or a warning: \”A word in your ear – the company are monitoring internet use.\”

to not mince your words = say something directly, without trying to be diplomatic: \”She doesn\’t mince her words!\”

to have words = to have an argument: \”They\’ve had words and now they\’re not speaking.\”

to get a word in edgeways = to try to contribute to a conversation: \”They were talking so fast it was impossible to get a word in edgeways!\”