to talk in circles
3
7.2
- phrasal verb
- Informal
:
hablar sin sentido
- During the meeting, we kept talking in circles about the same issue without finding a solution.
- you're talking in circles here
I've had it with people in work meetings who talk in circles and use big words while simultaneously saying absolutely fucking nothing.
- I've had it with people in work meetings who talk in circles and use big words while simultaneously saying absolutely fucking nothing.
- And I, and I feel like I'm talking in circles, but I, but it's, it's just, it's almost hard not to because it's so it's so ephemeral in the beginning.
Examples
-
They spent a good ten minutes talking in circles.
Fiction book (1990) -
I'm talking in circles.
-
You just... you know, you talk in circles.
-
You guys are talking in circles.
-
Do you understand, or am I talking in circles?
Blog text (6) -
I don't think that he understands that he was talking in circles.
Blog text (31) -
We're talking in circles and I'm getting madder as we go.
Blog text (26) -
We're talking in circles.
-
You talk in circles.
Blog text (33) -
You're talking in circles.
Synonyms
1
5.2
To keep doing the same thing without making progress
Talk without saying a clear answer, often repeating or being vague
Antonyms
How Productive
- Formal
801
3.7
∞
1.6
- Informal
269
1.0
- Informal
3
7.2
- Informal
48
5.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The image of speaking 'in circles' uses a metaphor of circular motion to signal repetition and lack of progress, so a learner who knows 'talk', 'in', and 'circle' can often infer it means discussing without reaching a conclusion. However, the meaning depends on a metaphorical extension (circle = going round/repeating rather than a literal group or shape), which may not be fully predictable for all B1 learners.
Etymology
Talk in circles gives the image of people talking in circles, coming back to the same points again and again. So it means 'to discuss something without making progress or reaching a conclusion'.