double talk

See also: doubletalk and double-talk

English

Alternative forms

• double-talk
• doubletalk

Etymology

From double +‎ talk. Compare Middle English twispeche, Old English twīspǣċ, twīsprǣċ.

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

double talk (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Doublespeak.
2. (idiomatic): Lies, especially in a formal political statement.
3. (idiomatic) Speech which combines English and English-sounding gibberish for humorous effect.
4. A simple phonetic code with a regular infix that makes meaningful speech sound unintelligible.
5. (telephony) A situation when two people talk at the same time, causing overlapping audio signals.

Synonyms

• doublespeak, double Dutch, gibberish, jibber-jabber, nonsense

Derived terms

• double talker