big talk

Compare Old English micelsprecende [lit. "much speaking"] ("boasting").

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big talk (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic) Statements which are boastful or exaggerated.
   • 1919, William MacLeod Raine, chapter 14, in Oh, You Tex!:

     "Me, I just dropped in to hear yore big talk. Reminds me of old Geronimo. Like you, he gets all filled up with words about every so often and has to steam off. Go ahead, Gurley. Don't let me interrupt you. Make heap oration."

   • 2007 Nov. 11, Charles McGrath, "Norman Mailer, Towering Writer With a Matching Ego, Dies at 84 ," New York Times (retrieved 9 Sep 2012):

     Classmates remembered him as brash and jug-eared and full of big talk about his sexual experience.

   • 2008 Jan. 17, "Savior of Countrywide?," Time:

     In an industry built on big talk and swagger, Bank of America's Kenneth Lewis is an anomaly.

2. (idiomatic) Major topic of conversation; current gossip.
   • 1949 Feb. 14, "Canada: Los Holsteinos," Time:

     At the annual livestock convention in Toronto's Royal York Hotel last week, the big talk was about Holsteins.

   • 1994 Aug. 12, "3-Day Stock Rally Ends As Dow Retreats 15.86," New York Times (retrieved 9 Sep 2012):

     "The big talk of the street at the moment is that the Fed will raise the discount rate 50 basis points," said Kenneth Ducey.

• (boastful or exaggerated statements): braggadocio
• (major topic of conversation): the buzz

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