to talk out of turn
2
6.5
- phrasal verb
:
hablar fuera de turno
- One comment he made about Susan early on was that she was hesitant to correct the students for talking out of turn or for not participating in the lesson.
Examples
-
These sort of people don't talk out of turn.
-
To talk out of turn.
Blog text (12) -
Or am I talking out of turn?
-
I was talking out of turn.
-
I will not have girls talking out of turn in my class!
Fiction book (1994) -
Because she likes to have a lot of attention, she often talks out of turn.
Academic text (1993) -
If he talks out of turn, throw a bucket of water on him.
-
He was almost afraid, as though he were talking out of turn to his father.
Fiction book (1994) -
"Educators like to talk about character skills when kids are in kindergarten—we send young kids home with a report card about 'working well with others' or 'not talking out of turn.'
Blog text (28) -
In a formal meeting, he was reprimanded for talking out of turn when he interrupted the speaker.
Antonyms
How Appropriate
17
2.0
43
2.0
2
6.5
909
2.5
9
6.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to speak when it is inappropriate or not your turn' is directly derivable from 'talk' (to speak) combined with the phrase 'out of turn' (literally: not during one's proper turn). This compositional pattern is common and mirrors similar constructions in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Talk out of turn comes from the simple image of talk and turn: imagine people speaking in an agreed order and one person speaks out of their turn. That's why it means 'to speak when it is inappropriate or when you are not supposed to'.