talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

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21-May-2010, 09:35
vil

talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence from Maugham’s “Cakes and Ale”?

You can talk your head off about Edward Driffield, but I shall be able to getaway when I’m fed up with you!

talk your head off = talk to your’s heart content

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.
21-May-2010, 18:25
billmcd

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

Sure.
21-May-2010, 19:29
~Mav~

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

Dear teachers,

Does the following sentence: "James is a friendly guy, but he always talks his head off (i.e. speaks too much) and talks my head off." (i.e. bores me) work :?: Or, to make it shorter: "James is a friendly guy, but he always talks his and my head off." Are these sentences (and my interpretation) correct?
21-May-2010, 22:46
billmcd

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

All are OK.
21-May-2010, 23:35
bertietheblue

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

To '[infinitive] one's head off' means to do something exuberantly ('he laughed his head off') sometimes to excess and in the case of speech to the point of tedium:

he talked his head off = he talked my head off = he talked too much. The 2nd instance has an added suggestion of boredom on my part but you can't use the 2 on top of one another - there's too much redundancy there - unless possibly you are trying to be funny, but I don't think you'll be successful!
22-May-2010, 01:48
sarat_106

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

Quote:

Originally Posted by vil

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expression in bold in the following sentence from Maugham’s “Cakes and Ale”?

You can talk your head off about Edward Driffield, but I shall be able to getaway when I’m fed up with you!

talk your head off = talk to your’s heart content=talk a lot, say too much with a view to change some one's mind/openion/decission.

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V.

You can talk your head off, but I won't change my opinion.
22-May-2010, 02:36
~Mav~

Re: talk your head off = talk to your heart's content

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertietheblue

To '[infinitive] one's head off' means to do something exuberantly ('he laughed his head off') sometimes to excess and in the case of speech to the point of tedium:

he talked his head off = he talked my head off = he talked too much. The 2nd instance has an added suggestion of boredom on my part...

Thank you for your great explanation. :up:

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertietheblue

but you can't use the 2 on top of one another - there's too much redundancy there - unless possibly you are trying to be funny, but I don't think you'll be successful!

You've kind of read my mind. :-D Though I would say I wanted to imply a little sarcasm. ;-) In fact, I'm still planning to use this phrase next time I talk with a friend of mine, out of whom I probably bored the crap a couple of days ago. :lol: So I'm going to be the subject of this phrase, like this: "I'm sorry. I know I talked both my and your head off the other day". :mrgreen: But if it doesn't convey my intended self-sarcasm, then maybe I should stick to the well-working "I talked my ass off" phrase. :-D