talk /tɔːk/► SEE ALLbe all talk (and no action)be the talk of sthyou can/can’t talktalk about…talk bigtalk dirtytalk sb’s ear offtalk your head offtalk the hind leg(s) off a donkeytalk shoptalk through the back of your headtalk through your hattalk to a brick walltalk tough (on sth)talk turkeytalk your way out of sth/out of doing sthbe/talk at cross purposesspeak/talk of the devilfighting talktalk to/tell it to the hand (because/’cos the face ain’t listening)speak/talk the same/a different languagea pep talkpillow talkknock/talk some sense into sb(make) small talk ●be all ˈtalk (and no action) (disapproving) be a person who talks a lot about what they are going to do or have done without actually doing much光说不做；只会耍嘴皮子◆Don’t listen to her promises — she’s all talk and no action. 别听她的那些许诺，她就只会说空话。●be the talk of sth (informal) be sth that everyone is interested in and talking about成为大家的谈资；为人们所津津乐道◆His collection is the talk of the Milan fashion shows. 他的时装系列成为米兰时装展的热门话题。◆Overnight, she became the talk of the town(= famous). 一夜之间，她名声大噪。●ˈyou can/can’t talk ( look who’s ˈtalking, you’re a ˈfine one to talk) (spoken) you should not criticize sb because you are also guilty of the same fault你还有脸说别人；你还好意思说◆‘He’s always late for appointments.’ ‘You can talk! You’re hardly ever on time yourself.’ “他约会老迟到。”“你也好意思说别人！你自己几乎就没准时过。”◆‘George is so careless with money.’ ‘Look who’s talking!’ “乔治总是乱花钱。”“你还好意思说别人！”●ˈtalk about… (spoken) used to emphasize sth（用于强调）这才叫…，真的是…◆Did you watch the programme on the Labour Party last night? Talk about biased! 你看了昨晚关于工党的节目了吗？真是很有偏见！●talk ˈbig (disapproving) tell people how good you are or promise many things说大话；吹牛◆The President talks big but he doesn’t do anything. 总统大话说得不少，实事却没做过。●talk ˈdirty (informal) talk to sb about sex in order to make them sexually excited说下流话（以使某人性兴奋）◆I love it when you talk dirty. 我喜欢听你说荤话。●talk sb’s ˈear off (especially NAmE, informal, especiallydisapproving) if sb talks your ear off they talk to you a lot对某人唠叨不休◆That guy on the plane talked my ear off — I couldn’t wait to land! 飞机上的那个家伙对我唠叨个没完，我巴不得飞机马上着陆！●talk your ˈhead off (informal) talk a lot喋喋不休；说个不停◆He talked his head off all evening. 他整晚都在喋喋不休。●talk the hind leg(s) off a ˈdonkey (informal, humorous) (usually used with can or could通常与 can 或 could 连用) talk for a long time唠叨不停；滔滔不绝◆He would make a good politician — he could talk the hind legs off a donkey! 他做政客肯定合适，他能滔滔不绝地说个不停！●talk ˈshoptalk about your work or business in a social situation with sb who works with you（在社交场合）谈公事，谈工作，谈与业务有关的事◆Are you two talking shop again? Why don’t you forget business for a while and come and meet my friends? 你们俩又在谈工作了吧？你们就不能暂时忘掉公事，过来见见我的朋友们？▸ˈshop talk
noun
◆We’ve discussed more intimate things than just shop talk. 我们谈的更多的是私密事，而不只是公事。●talk through the back of your ˈhead (informal) talk nonsense说话不用脑子；胡说八道◆If he says that he’s going to win the prize, he’s talking through the back of his head. 他说他会得奖吗，他是在说胡话呢！●talk through your ˈhat (old-fashioned, informal) (usually used in progressive tenses通常用于进行时) say silly things while you are talking about a subject you do not understand信口开河；瞎扯◆Don’t take any notice of him. He’s talking through his hat, as usual. 别理他，他又像往常一样，在瞎说呢。●talk to a brick ˈwall (informal) used when sb refuses to listen to your advice, ideas, explanations, etc.（用于指某人听不进他人意见、解释等）像对墙说话，白说◆Talking to him is like talking to a brick wall. He just won’t listen. 跟他讲话只是白费口舌，他就是不听。●talk ˈtough (on sth) (informal, especially NAmE) tell people very strongly what you want说话口气强硬；强烈要求◆Before the elections, the party talked tough on crime, but little has been done since they’ve been in power. 大选之前，该党表示要严厉打击犯罪，但是当政以后他们毫无动作。●talk ˈturkey (informal, especially NAmE) discuss the practical details of sth seriously and honestly认真商谈（实际的细节）；实实在在地说◆Look, Mark, it’s time we talked turkey. How much money can you invest in the company? 喂，马克，我们该认真地谈谈实际问题了。你能给公司投多少钱？●talk your way out of sth/out of doing sthmake excuses and give reasons for not doing sth; manage to get yourself out of a difficult situation靠能言善辩开脱；凭口才解围◆He tried to talk his way out of it by saying someone else was responsible. 他尽力替自己开脱，说责任在别人身上。◆I’d like to see her talk her way out of this one (= the present trouble). 我真想看看她现在怎么给自己解围。●be/talk at cross ˈpurposes (of two people or groups两人或两个团体) misunderstand what the other is referring to or trying to do各说各话；相互误解◆Mary and I spoke about Anne for a minute or two before I realized we were talking at cross purposes: I meant Anne Smith and Mary meant Anne Harris.我跟玛丽谈起安妮，聊了一会儿才意识到我们说的是两码事，我在说安妮 ∙ 史密斯，而她说的是安妮 ∙ 哈里斯。●speak/talk of the ˈdevil (informal, saying) said when sb who has just been mentioned appears unexpectedly说到某人（某人就到）◆‘I haven’t seen Leo for a while.’ ‘Well, speak of the devil, here he is!’“我有一阵子没见到利奥了。”“真是说谁谁就到，他来了！”●fighting ˈtalkcomments or remarks that show that you are ready to fight very hard for sth宣战言论；挑战声明◆What we want from the management is fighting talk.我们想让管理层发出挑战宣言。●talk to/tell it to the ˈhand (because/’cos the face ain’t ˈlistening) (NAmE, informal) used to say in a rude way that you refuse to listen to what sb is trying to tell you（粗暴地表示不愿听别人讲）别说了，闭嘴NOTE This is said while holding your hand up in front of the other person’s face.说这个习语的时候手掌通常伸在别人面前。●speak/talk the same/a different ˈlanguageshare/not share ideas, experiences, opinions, etc., that make real communication or understanding possible（因意见和经历等相似或不同而）能／不能沟通交流；有／无共同语言；说得来／不来◆Unions and managers are at last beginning to speak the same language.工会和管理层终于开始沟通了。◆Artists and scientists simply talk a different language.艺术家和科学家根本没有共同语言。●a ˈpep talk (informal) a talk by sb to give people confidence or encouragement励志的话；鼓舞士气的话◆Just before the exams, our teacher gave us all a pep talk.考试前，老师给大家加油鼓气。●ˈpillow talk (informal) a conversation in bed between lovers when promises are made which should not be taken too seriously, or secrets are revealed枕边的甜言蜜语；枕边私房话◆‘He said he’d never been so deeply in love in the whole of his life.’ ‘That was just pillow talk.’“他说他一生从没有这么投入地恋爱过。”“那只不过是枕边的甜言蜜语而已。”◆‘How did he find out about that?’ ‘Pillow talk, probably.’“他是怎么知道的？”“多半是通过枕边密语吧。”●knock/talk some ˈsense into sb (informal) try to persuade sb to stop behaving in a stupid way, sometimes using rough or violent methods（有时用粗暴或暴力手段）开导某人别干傻事，说服某人改变愚蠢行为◆I wish somebody would knock some sense into our politicians.我希望能有人使我们的政客变聪明些。◆Try and talk some sense into her before she makes the wrong decision.尽力说服她，别让她作出错误的决策。●(make) ˈsmall talk(take part in) polite conversation about unimportant things闲聊；聊天◆Maria introduced me to her parents, and we sat there making small talk for a while.玛丽亚把我介绍给她的父母，我们坐在一起闲聊了一会儿。