talk of the town
- idiom
- Our wedding was the talk of the town.
- became the talk of the town
And all summer long, the talk of the town has been Sex and the City, Are you ready?
- And all summer long, the talk of the town has been Sex and the City, Are you ready?
- But if you even if you're married with kids, you still want to be the talk of the town, you know what I mean?
Examples
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I want Suzette to have a party that will be the talk of the town.
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You're the talk of the town.
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It's all over the news and it's the talk of the town.
Blog text (29) -
The dispute became the talk of the town.
Academic text (2008) -
News of an unusual shipwreck, quite possibly an old one, became the talk of the town.
Academic text (2010) -
Luke Hancock is the talk of the town today, and not for any of the reasons he might have hoped for.
Blog text (2) -
And don't worry about the food, our meatballs are the talk of the town.
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No surprise, Twilight—the first book in the sequence was the talk of the town when it was published.
Blog text (13) -
In Atlanta, Gonzo has become the talk of the town and generated a buzz of optimism regarding the Falcons' possible return to the NFL's postseason stage.
Blog text (9) -
Our wedding was the talk of the town.
Synonyms
A person many people in a town or local area admire and like
A person or thing that most people in a group like more than others
Antonyms
How Popular
- Texting
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'something everyone is talking about' is directly derivable from combining 'talk' (conversation) with the locational/associative phrase 'of the town' — literally the talk belonging to or happening in the town. This is a straightforward compositional pattern (noun + of + place) common across languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would very likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Talk of the town comes from the image of people in a town meeting in the street or market and all talking about the same news. So, if something is the talk of the town, it means 'something everyone is talking about'.