Thirty Idioms About Talking
- a little bird(y) told me - told by a secret informant
- an armchair critic - someone who offers advice in a given situation without proving that they could cope any better the situation
- like talking to a brick wall - talking to an unresponsive/unsympathetic/unpersuadable person
- “spit it out!” - a saying used to urge someone to get to the point/confess something quickly
- the gift of gab - the gift of being able to speak with eloquence
- to be all mouth - to talk boastfully about something to try and impress someone without intending on acting on your words
- to beat around the bush - to avoid addressing the most important matter
- to cut to the chase - to directly address the most important matter
- to chew the fat/rag - to chat/catch up in an unhurried manner
- to dish it out - to be critical
- to flap your lips - to talk a lot and in an indiscreet manner
- to run off at the mouth - to talk a lot and in an indiscreet manner
- to shoot the breeze - to chat in an unhurried manner
- to speak out of turn - to say something inappropriate/tactless
- to speak the same language - to understand someone based on sharing their opinions and values
- to speak/talk in riddles - to talk in a confusing/ambiguous manner
- to spill the beans - to (accidentally) reveal secret information
- to talk a mile a minute - to talk very quickly
- to talk in circles - to talk in an indirect manner
- to talk sense into - to persuade someone to behave more reasonably
- to talk shop - to talk about work
- to talk someone through something - to help someone complete a task by instructing them at every step/ to help someone get through a difficult situation
- to talk someone’s ear off - to talk to someone at length (usually to the point of annoying them)
- to talk something over/through - to discuss something thoroughly and perhaps come to a resolution
- to talk something up - to promote something
- to talk the talk/to talk a good game - to talk eloquently about something in order to impress/please someone without necessarily intending acting on your words
- to talk the talk and walk the walk - to match your actions to your words
- to talk through your hat - to talk in a foolish/ignorant way
- to talk until you’re blue in the face - to put all your effort into persuading someone about something but to no avail
- “you can/should talk!” - a saying used to express to someone that you think they are being hypocritical
If you’ve found this post useful, why not check out our other articles on idioms?
Have a great week!
25 Jun 2016
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