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Glite Dictionary
to talk someone's leg off

to talk someone's leg off

8.1
Speak with someone for a very long time until they get tired
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : hablarle sin parar
  • Be prepared; once he starts, he can talk your leg off about anything!

Examples

  • During the flight, he talked my leg off about his adventures in Europe.

  • If you let her, she will talk your leg off about her new puppy.

  • - Anna will talk your leg off while she's fixing you up.

    Parts: The Clonus Horror (1979)

Synonyms

to run on
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
38 5.0

To talk for a long time without stopping, often giving too many details

is similar but emphasizes wearing someone out rather than uninterrupted detail
to rattle on
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
5 6.6

To talk for a long time about small boring things

is about long speech that specifically tires someone rather than only boring them
to chew the fat
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
3 7.9

Talk in a friendly, relaxed way for a long time

is more about tiring someone by excessive length rather than friendly chat
to bend your ear
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
1 7.9

To talk to someone for a long time in a way that annoys them

is about tiring someone by long speech rather than gentle chatting
to yap away
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
1 8.4

To talk without stopping in an annoying way

is the same long excessive speech but stresses wearing someone out
to palaver
vsto talk someone's leg off
1 9.4

To talk for a long time about unimportant things

is about lengthy speech that wears a listener out rather than being elaborate
to yack away
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
1 9.1

Talk for a long time in a way that annoys other people

is the same excessive length but highlights causing listener fatigue
to rabbit on
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • UK
1 8.7

To talk for a long time in a noisy, excited way about small things

is similar length but focuses more on tiring through excess than noise
to talk someone's ear off
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
7.5

Speak to someone for a very long time in a way that annoys them

is the same idea of wearing someone out by long speech
to talk your arm off
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
8.4

To speak to someone for a very long time until they get tired of listening

focuses on tiring someone by excessive length in the same way
to bend someone's ear
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
7.9

Talk to someone for a long time about personal things and often annoy them

is broader, not limited to personal complaints but still tires listeners
to jaw away
vsto talk someone's leg off
  • Informal
8.5

To talk for a long time in a casual or boring way

is more strongly about exhausting the listener by extended speech

Antonyms

to be quiet
231 1.0

To stop making noise or talking

How Long

to talk someone's leg off
  • UK
8.1
to ramble on
  • Informal
15 6.2
to talk
∞ 1.0
to chat
  • Informal
269 1.0
to whisper
586 1.0

Surface Forms

talk someone's leg off infinitive
talked someone's leg off past
talked someone's leg off past participle
talking someone's leg off present participle
talks someone's leg off third person singular

Morphology

talk + someone's + leg + off

The meaning 'to talk to someone for a very long time' cannot be derived from the literal parts 'talk' + 'someone's' + 'leg' + 'off' — the image of removing or affecting a leg does not map onto prolonged speech, and the particle 'off' does not transparently signal excessive talking. This is an idiomatic construction (like 'talk someone's ear off') whose meaning is language-specific and unpredictable, so a B1 learner who knows the words would not reliably infer the phrase's meaning.

Etymology

Talk someone's leg off may come from an older, funny image: one popular story says a person could talk so much they would 'talk the hind leg off a donkey'. That's why it means 'to talk to someone for a very long time' and make them tired.