Why do we talk 'nineteen to the dozen'

A. A very literal saying: using nineteen words where twelve will do. So, speaking fast or endlessly (or both). There doesn't seem to be any particular reason why nineteen should have been chosen, but the phrase has been round for many years, appearing as early as 1785 in Sheridan's Journal: 'The Mother good humour'd and Civil, but talks nineteen to the dozen.'

Q. And how else do we talk
A.

• Talk big: boast.
• Talk shop: talk about work, often at an inappropriate time and in a manner that excludes the uninitiated.
• Talk (shout) someone down: to shut someone up by speaking more loudly or forcefully.
• Talk someone round: persuade someone.
• Talk the hind leg off a donkey: a bit like 'nineteen to the dozen', to go on and on and on. An earlier version was to talk a 'horse's hind leg off'; this was noted in 1808, but the donkey had taken the lead by the mid 19th century. 'Talk the hind-legs off a dog' was given as an Australian alternative by Trollope in 1879.
• Talk through your hat: exaggerate or talk nonsense. It has been suggested that this refers to those pious men who cover their faces with their hats in order to appear more intensely at prayer.
• Talk through the back of your neck: same meaning as the last. Talking out of the opposite side of one's head to the mouth.
• Talk of the Devil: 'name him, and he's always near'. Said of someone who turns up or rings out of the blue very soon after they have been the subject of a conversation. Their ears must have been burning - but that's another story.
• Talk turkey: to get down to business. Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable posits that this may have come about from turkey hunters, who attempted to fool their prey by making gobbling noises.
• Talk a blue streak: An American saying, meaning to speak continuously and at great length.
• Table talk: small talk

If you know any other phrases describing the ways we speak, tell us here

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By Simon Smith