gab
gab
1. verb To talk or chat. Geez, she's been gabbing on the phone to her friend for an hour already.
2. noun Inane talk or gossip. Don't pay attention to what they're saying—it's all stupid gab.
gab room
A ladies' restroom. Janie went to the gab room—she'll be back in a minute.
See also: gab, room
gabfest
1. slang A casual gathering in which people chat for an extended period of time. Can I sleep in your dorm room tonight? My roommate and her friends are having a real gabfest in mine.
2. slang An extended conversation. The last time I saw Steph, we had a gabfest in the grocery store parking lot, of all places.
have a gift for gab
To have the ability to speak to others in a self-assured, charismatic, and persuasive manner. Alexis really has a gift for gab, so she should be the one to address the potential investors. My Aunt Jennifer has always had a gift for gab. She could keep you on the edge of your seat with a story you've heard a hundred times!
See also: gab, gift, have
have the gift of (the) gab
To have the ability to speak to others in a self-assured, persuasive manner. Alexis really has the gift of gab, so she should be the one to address the potential investors.
See also: gab, gift, have, of
the gift of (the) gab
The ability to speak to others in a self-assured, persuasive manner. Alexis really has the gift of gab, so she should be the one to address the potential investors.
See also: gab, gift, of
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
have the gift of gab
and have a gift for gabFig. to have a great facility with language; to be able to use language very effectively. (See also have a way with words.) My brother really has the gift of gab. He can convince anyone of anything. I don't talk a lot. I just don't have the gift for gab.
See also: gab, gift, have, of
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
gift of gab
Talent for verbal fluency, especially the ability to talk persuasively. For example, His gift of gab made him a wonderful salesman. [Late 1700s]
See also: gab, gift, of
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
the gift of the gab
BRITISH orthe gift of gab
AMERICANIf someone has the gift of the gab, they are able to speak confidently, clearly, and in a persuasive way. He was entertaining company and certainly had the gift of the gab. Thompson has the gift of the gab and is a born communicator. He was a pleasant little man with spiked hair, a black pipe, and a great gift of gab. Note: This expression may be related to the Irish and Gaelic word `gab', which means mouth.
See also: gab, gift, of
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
the gift of the gab
the ability to speak with eloquence and fluency.Gab , dating from the late 18th century, was an informal word for ‘conversation or chatter’. In Scotland it was associated with gab , an early 18th-century dialect variant of gob meaning ‘the mouth’.
See also: gab, gift, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
the gift of the ˈgab
(British English) (American English a gift of/for ˈgab) (informal, sometimes disapproving) the ability to speak easily and to persuade other people with your words: To be a successful sales executive you need the gift of the gab. Gab is possibly from the Irish word for mouth. The Irish have a reputation as good talkers.See also: gab, gift, of
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
gab
(gæb)1. in. to chatter; to gossip. Can you stop gabbing just for a minute?
2. n. mindless chatter; gossip. Enough of this gab—on with the show!
gab room
n. a women’s restroom where women are said to chatter. She went to the gab room to powder her nose.
See also: gab, room
gabfest
(ˈgæbfɛst) n. an event where much chattering or gossip takes place. There’s a gabfest going on in Clare’s room.
the gift of gab
n. the ability to speak well in public; the ability to persuade people verbally; the ability to speak well extemporaneously. I wish I had the gift of gab. I’m just so shy.
See also: gab, gift, of
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
gift of gab
Fluency of speech; also, a tendency to boast. Gab, both the noun meaning “speech” and the verb meaning “to chatter,” is believed to have come from the Gaelic dialect word gob, for “mouth.” Indeed it so appeared in Samuel Colvil’s Whiggs Supplication (1695): “There was a man called Job . . . He had a good gift of the Gob.” During the next century it became gab, as in William Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794): “He knew well enough that he had the gift of the gab.” Later “the” was dropped.
See also: gab, gift, of
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- talk at cross purposes
- talk to
- talk to (one)
- chitter-chatter
- What's on your mind?
- straight talk
- talk about
- Talk about (something)!
- talk about...
- don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk