manner of speaking
7
3.8
- noun
:
manera de hablar
- Nan Nash used to have an easygoing personality and a relaxed manner of speaking.
Examples
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"Well... in a manner of speaking," said Julie.
Fiction book (1994) -
His face is kind; his manner of speaking is academic.
Blog text (20) -
Yes, I suppose, in a manner of speaking.
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In a manner of speaking, it's another long story.
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Yes, miss, I am, in a manner of speaking.
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In a manner of speaking, yes.
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I'll never forget the time a professor told me that my manner of speaking immediately revealed my low-income background.
Blog text (15) -
In a manner of speaking, it is to belong to two distinct humanities without relation to each other.
Academic text (1998) -
Nan Nash used to have an easygoing personality and a relaxed manner of speaking.
Academic text (1994) -
Later, of course, his voice and manner of speaking would become famous.
Synonyms
205
6.7
A way of speaking that shows a person's attitude
186
1.0
A person's usual way of acting
117
1.0
The way a person uses words and voice when talking
37
4.1
The way someone says words to others, for example in a speech
7
3.8
A way of speaking that a person often uses, shown by accent or rhythm
How Formal
7
3.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'manner' (mode/way) + 'of' (genitive/relational) + 'speaking' (the act of speech) yields 'the way someone speaks.' This is a common, transparent noun-of-noun construction found across languages and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Manner of speaking paints a simple picture: manner is like a person's usual way or 'style', and speaking is how they talk. So, imagining someone's familiar voice, tone and choice of words helps explain why the phrase means 'a person's characteristic way of speaking'.