to run off at the mouth
3
8.4
- idiom
- Informal
:
hablar sin parar
- But I'm not sure that means he isn't capable of being foolish or running off at the mouth.
Examples
-
There I go running off at the mouth again.
Fiction book (2000) -
Since this is often the opening question in an interview, be extra careful that you don't run off at the mouth.
Blog text (33) -
Your dad likes to run off at the mouth sometimes, l know.
-
You run off at the mouth so.
-
Listen up instead of running off at the mouth!
Fiction book (1997) -
Now you're going to listen to me while I run off at the mouth.
-
A whole new problem is, you didn't bother to investigate before running off at the mouth.
Blog text (32) -
You catch me running off at the mouth, just give me a poke in the chops.
-
Vivien: You know you run off at the mouth, Clarence.
Fiction book (1998) -
He tends to run off at the mouth during meetings, often sharing too much information.
Synonyms
70
4.8
To speak loudly and angrily for a long time
63
5.2
To speak loudly and excitedly for a long time without much thought
38
5.0
To talk for a long time without stopping, often giving too many details
28
8.3
To speak rudely and loudly to a person in charge
5
8.0
To say things carelessly or proudly without thinking about the result
1
8.9
To speak quickly without thinking and risk upsetting people
1
9.4
Say things quickly without thinking that may hurt people or make you sorry later
1
6.4
To talk so much that you stop others from speaking
To talk too much and say things you should not say
To say something quickly without thinking
To talk a lot about unimportant things
Antonyms
How Talkative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun 'mouth' gives a clear cue to speaking, so learners can guess the expression relates to talking, but the verb phrase 'run off at' is idiomatic and its contribution to 'excessive/indiscreet speech' is not directly predictable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words might infer something about talking but would not reliably derive the precise meaning 'to speak excessively or indiscreetly' without prior exposure.
Etymology
The idiom run off at the mouth may come from the image of words like water that run off the mouth, spilling out without control. That's why it means 'to say too much'.