to ramble on
15
6.2
- phrasal verb
- /ˈræmbl ɑn/
- Informal
:
divagar
- So I'm just going to ramble on about how much I adore them and that's that.
Before we ramble on and people leave, Sorry.
- Before we ramble on and people leave, Sorry.
- Then the president rambled on about stuff he liked.
- And so again, not to ramble on and on, be honest with yourself, all right?
- So I'm just going to ramble on about how much I adore them and that's that.
- So it's yeah, this is, I could talk about this forever, but I probably rambled on a little long, but no, not at all.
- So yeah, if you're going to take fucking high chances and ramble on, do it at the biggest place that you ever play.
- So before I continue rambling on with no makeup on, let's put on this foundation.
- All right, I feel like I rambled. I ramble on all of this. What's new? Julia, I read your blog. How do you manage to,
Examples
-
And so again, not to ramble on and on, be honest with yourself, all right?
-
Anyway, I'm rambling on here.
-
Then the president rambled on about stuff he liked.
-
- What are you rambling on about, old man?
-
You let us ramble on and on.
-
Anyway, I've rambled on a bit about some of the work I find exciting.
Academic text (2012) -
So in your next article, can you please not ramble on about pointless points?
Blog text (22) -
Finally, someone finds him, completely delirious, rambling on about the fabulous gold strike.
Fiction book (1995) -
And I would often find myself on a soapbox, rambling on and on about the injustices of the world.
-
In his speech, the professor rambled on about his favorite hobbies, losing the audience's attention.
Synonyms
86
2.7
To talk quickly and without stopping about unimportant things
75
4.4
Talk quickly in a silly way that is hard to understand
50
3.3
Lose focus or go off the main subject
48
5.3
To talk or write for a long time without a clear point
38
5.0
To talk for a long time without stopping, often giving too many details
12
8.0
To talk a lot in a silly way that makes little sense
10
6.0
Talk for a long time in a boring, flat voice
9
8.4
To talk on and on in a silly way about unimportant things
5
6.6
To talk for a long time about small boring things
3
9.0
To keep changing your mind and not give a clear answer
1
7.9
To talk quickly and unclearly so others cannot understand you
1
9.9
To talk for a long time about things that do not matter
1
9.4
To talk for a long time about unimportant things
1
8.7
To talk for a long time in a noisy, excited way about small things
1
9.9
To talk for a long time about silly or unimportant things
1
9.9
To talk a long time in a silly or unimportant way
To talk in a slow, unclear way about unimportant things
To talk for a long time about unimportant things in a silly way
To speak quickly in a confused or silly way
How Aimless
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from 'ramble' (to speak or write at length in an unfocused way) combined with the particle 'on' (indicating continuation), yielding the sense 'continue speaking at length aimlessly.' This verb + particle composition is a standard, transparent pattern and would be understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Ramble on comes from the image of walking around without a plan: ramble means to walk about slowly and on shows continuing. So when someone rambles on they keep talking without a clear order or point, which is why it means 'to talk or write at length in a confused or aimless way'.