to flap one's gums
2
8.7
- idiom
- Informal
:
hablar mucho
- Instead of working on the project, they spent the afternoon flapping their gums over coffee.
- stop flapping your gums
Examples
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Why do you always have to flap your gums about everybody else's business?
-
- Keep flapping your gums, Bob.
-
What have you done besides flap your gums?
Blog text (27) -
So whatever you're gonna do, quit flapping your gums and do it.
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You sure do flap your gums a lot when the boss ain't around.
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Flap your gums 'cause you're scared?
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I really wish you would stop flapping your gums and focus on the task at hand.
Synonyms
86
2.7
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
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
1
7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
To talk a lot about unimportant things
To talk for a long time in a casual or boring way
Antonyms
How Talkative
- Informal
12
8.0
86
2.7
- Informal
2
8.7
- Informal
269
1.0
11
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase evokes a literal image — 'flap' (move quickly) + 'gums' (part of the mouth) — so there is a visible link to mouth movement and thus speaking. However, the meaning 'talk a lot / gossip' is a colloquial, metaphorical extension (moving gums → excessive chatter) that is not fully predictable without prior exposure, so a B1 learner would likely find it only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom flap one's gums may come from the image of a mouth moving like a bird's wings: flap means to move up and down and gums are part of the mouth, so it looks like someone is making noisy mouth motion without saying anything important. That's why it means 'to talk a lot', often about unimportant things.