double-talk

or dou·ble·talk

[ duhb-uhl-tawk ]

noun

1. speech using nonsense syllables along with words in a rapid patter.
2. deliberately evasive or ambiguous language:

   When you try to get a straight answer, he gives you double-talk.

verb (used without object)

1. to engage in double-talk.

verb (used with object)

1. to accomplish or persuade by double-talk.

double talk

noun

1. rapid speech with a mixture of nonsense syllables and real words; gibberish
2. empty, deceptive, or ambiguous talk, esp by politicians

Other Words From

• double-talker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of double-talk¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

He exposed double-talk, pointed out hypocrisy and could draw laughter with a wide-eyed look of incredulousness or fear.

From Seattle Times

Dressed up in an inexhaustible supply of euphemistic rhetoric and double-talk, such immoral policies are stunning to see in real time.

From Salon

If his pre-prison projects were almost entirely freestyled, these songs are more tightly written, honoring the fallen, indicting the double-talk of the industry, powered by the energy of a bowstring being pulled back for a half-decade.

From Los Angeles Times

Instead, the orchestration of the House objections was a story of shrewd salesmanship and calculated double-talk, set against a backdrop of demographic change across the country that has widened the gulf between the parties.

From New York Times

Cook seemed kind most of the time, but she was beginning to wonder if the older woman was what Daddy had referred to as Double-Talk Folk.

From Literature