Thirty Idioms About Talking

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  1. a little bird(y) told me - told by a secret informant
  2. an armchair critic - someone who offers advice in a given situation without proving that they could cope any better the situation
  3. like talking to a brick wall - talking to an unresponsive/unsympathetic/unpersuadable person
  4. “spit it out!” - a saying used to urge someone to get to the point/confess something quickly
  5. the gift of gab - the gift of being able to speak with eloquence
  6. to be all mouth - to talk boastfully about something to try and impress someone without intending on acting on your words
  7. to beat around the bush - to avoid addressing the most important matter
  8. to cut to the chase - to directly address the most important matter
  9. to chew the fat/rag - to chat/catch up in an unhurried manner
  10. to dish it out - to be critical
  11. to flap your lips - to talk a lot and in an indiscreet manner
  12. to run off at the mouth - to talk a lot and in an indiscreet manner
  13. to shoot the breeze - to chat in an unhurried manner
  14. to speak out of turn - to say something inappropriate/tactless
  15. to speak the same language - to understand someone based on sharing their opinions and values
  16. to speak/talk in riddles - to talk in a confusing/ambiguous manner
  17. to spill the beans - to (accidentally) reveal secret information
  18. to talk a mile a minute - to talk very quickly
  19. to talk in circles - to talk in an indirect manner
  20. to talk sense into - to persuade someone to behave more reasonably
  21. to talk shop - to talk about work
  22. 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
  23. to talk someone’s ear off - to talk to someone at length (usually to the point of annoying them)
  24. to talk something over/through - to discuss something thoroughly and perhaps come to a resolution
  25. to talk something up - to promote something
  26. 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
  27. to talk the talk and walk the walk - to match your actions to your words
  28. to talk through your hat - to talk in a foolish/ignorant way
  29. to talk until you’re blue in the face - to put all your effort into persuading someone about something but to no avail
  30. “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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