British & Australian, informal

to try to get sympathy from other people by making your problems seem worse than they really are.

He was really piling on the agony, saying he was heart-broken and hadn't got anything left to live for. (usually in continuous tenses)

• talk out something
• talk over
• talk sense
• talk shop
• talk someone into
• talk someone into something
• talk someone out of
• talk someone out of something
• talk some sense into
• talk some sense into someone
• talk something over
• talk the same language
• talk the talk
• talk through
• talk through something
• talk tough
• talk turkey
• talk up
• talk up a storm
• talk up something
• talk way
• talk way somewhere
• talk your way
• talk your way somewhere
• talk you through