Gift Of Gab, the

Also: Gift of the gab

Meaning of Idiom The Gift of Gab

The gift of gab is the ability to speak in a very fluent, confident and eloquent manner, especially when this ability allows one to easily persuade others to do what one wants. ¹Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,²Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.,³McCarthy, Michael. Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms. Cambridge University Press, 2002

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Examples of Use

“He wasn’t really qualified as an administrator, but his gift of gab allowed him to rise to the top of the company.”

“The candidate never had a good command of the facts, but he had the gift of gab. Voters easily fell for his charm.”

Origin

Gab was used during the late 1700’s as a word for conversation or ‘chatter.’ The Scottish term gab was associated with gob, meaning ‘the mouth.’ Having the gift of the gab meant having a gift for fluent conversation. ⁴Ammer, Christine. American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013.,⁵Ayto, John. Oxford Dictionary of English Idioms. Oxford: Oxford U, 2010.

More Idioms Starting with F

• Fight Like Cats and Dogs
• From Your Lips to God’s Ears
• Fox Guarding the Henhouse
• Friends in High Places
• Flat Broke

More Gift Idioms

• Beware Of Greeks Bearing Gifts

More Talk/Talking Related Idioms

• Talking to a Brick Wall
• Chatterbox
• Talk Into
• Talk About
• Small Talk

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