IdiomDaily Life
English
Englishthe gift of gab
Meaning: The ability to speak easily and well.
Example: “With his gift of gab, he could sell sand in the desert.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Avoir de la tchatche Literally: To have some tchatche
Spanish: pico de oro Literally: Beak of gold
Dutch: niet op zijn mond gevallen zijn Literally: To not have fallen on one's mouth
Origin: The expression is used humorously or with admiration. It suggests that being able to speak (gab) is a welcome trait (gift). The word gab is probably an Old English variation of the Scottish word `gob,' which means `mouth' or `beak.'
More English idioms
- give someone a song and dance To give someone an overly dramatic or unbelievable excuse.
- go around in circles To be confused or lost; to make no progress.
- go bananas To go crazy; to no longer be able to cope with a situation. To drive someone bananas mean…
- go for broke To risk everything.
- go haywire To malfunction; to break down.
- go it alone To travel some path or do some activity by oneself, often something dangerous or risky.
Explore another collection: Proverbs
Short sayings of timeless wisdom from more than 50 cultures, each with its meaning and origin.
- 猿も木から落ちる (Saru mo ki kara ochiru) Even experts make mistakes.
- 七転び八起き (Nanakorobi yaoki) To keep getting up no matter how often you fall.
- 石橋を叩いて渡る (Ishibashi o tataite wataru) To be extremely, even excessively, cautious.
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