monkey talk
1
8.9
- noun
- /ˈmʌŋki tɔk/
- Informal
:
charlas sin sentido
- Why don't you teach me some monkey talk?
Examples
-
I thought I heard the monkey talk.
-
The meeting was filled with monkey talk that distracted everyone from the main issues.
-
Instead of focusing on the problem, they resorted to monkey talk about unrelated topics.
-
She dismissed his comments as monkey talk, not worth discussing further.
Synonyms
87
3.5
Continuous talk about small things, often lively and noisy
65
2.1
Polite short talk about simple topics like the weather
48
7.5
Talk that is not true or is silly
28
2.0
Friendly, light talk about unimportant things
10
9.9
Silly talk that is not true
3
9.9
Talk that is silly and unimportant
1
5.8
Casual talk about small, unimportant things, often gossip
1
6.6
Silly talk that is not true or useful
1
9.9
Silly, unimportant talk that wastes time
1
9.9
Loud, silly talk that has no useful meaning
1
9.5
Light talk between people with little meaning
Light talk about unimportant, silly things people say
Continuous trivial talk that says nothing important
Light friendly talk about small unimportant things, often gossip
Antonyms
How Serious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'nonsense or trivial conversation' is directly derivable from combining 'monkey' (associated with playful, silly or mischievous behavior) with 'talk' (speech); this noun–noun modification is a standard, compositional pattern so the sense of 'silly speech' is predictable. Animal-based metaphors for foolish or playful behaviour are cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would likely infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Monkey talk comes from the noisy, chattering sounds of a monkey and the idea of useless talk. Because that chatter feels silly and meaningless, the phrase is used for 'nonsense' or 'trivial conversation'.