to jaw away
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
hablar sin parar
- Nick looks equally tired, but Stilts is jawing away.
Examples
-
The group of friends spent the afternoon jawing away about their favorite movies.
-
Last week, you's just bitching about not getting enough overtime, and now here you are jawing away like a bunch of fucking old ladies.
-
During the long road trip, they jawed away while enjoying the scenery.
-
She tends to jaw away at parties, sharing stories and jokes with everyone.
Synonyms
8
6.5
To talk quickly and excitedly in a way that is hard to understand
6
7.7
To talk for a long time in a relaxed, often boring way
5
6.6
To talk for a long time about small boring things
3
7.9
Talk in a friendly, relaxed way for a long time
2
8.7
Talk a lot about things that do not matter
1
8.4
To talk without stopping in an annoying way
1
9.4
To talk for a long time about unimportant things
1
9.1
Talk for a long time in a way that annoys other people
Speak to someone for a very long time in a way that annoys them
To speak to someone for a very long time until they get tired of listening
Speak with someone for a very long time until they get tired
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
Talk in a friendly, relaxed way
Antonyms
How Long
124
4.8
- Informal
- Informal
15
6.2
∞
1.0
- Informal
269
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to talk continuously' is directly derivable from 'jaw' (to talk at length) combined with the particle 'away' which marks continued or steady action. This verb + particle composition is a common, transparent English pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Jaw away may come from the old slang use of jaw for 'mouth' or 'talk', with away showing continued action. Imagine someone's jaw moving and talking without stopping, so the phrase means 'to talk continuously or tediously'.