double talk
6
9.0
- noun
- /ˈdʌbəl tɔk/
:
palabrería confusa
- The politician's speech was filled with double talk, making it difficult to understand his true intentions.
- sort of double talk
- just double talk
- little double talk
Examples
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Would you two mind letting me in on the double talk?
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And so when elected officials talk, they, they sort of double talk, doublespeak.
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Hey, what is all this double talk?
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- Cut out the double talk.
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No double talk and nobody gets hurt.
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No more double talk about staying on in the old place.
Fiction book (1994) -
No, it's called double talk and gibberish.
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The economic pundits offer double talk that is unintelligible to most people.
Blog text (33) -
In Texas, we are so used to this double talk that we see right through ole Mitt.
Blog text (1) -
Look, Fang, I can appreciate your having hard times, but if you want to get your rent reduced, double-talk won't help.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
21
8.3
Confusing talk that hides the truth or tries to impress people
19
7.4
Actions that hide the truth by making things look better
12
8.7
Making something unclear or hard to understand on purpose
9
9.9
Using unclear language to hide the truth and avoid giving a clear answer
6
9.3
Language that hides the truth by using vague or confusing words
3
9.9
To avoid telling the truth by being vague or misleading
3
9.7
Language made unclear on purpose to hide the truth, often used by governments
2
8.7
Speech that says one thing but means another to trick people
1
9.6
Talk that tries to trick people with false statements
Speech or writing that is hard to understand and sounds like nonsense
How Clear
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'double' signals twofoldness and can hint at speech with two meanings or mixed messages, so a learner might infer some non-literal or duplicative quality to the speech. However, the specific sense of deliberately ambiguous, evasive language used to deceive is not directly predictable from 'double' + 'talk' and requires prior exposure to the idiomatic usage.
Etymology
Double talk may come from the image of someone using double and talk at the same time, saying two different things or mixing clear words with nonsense so listeners are confused. That's why it now means language that 'confuses' or 'hides the truth' to 'avoid a direct answer'.