To get a word in edgeways definition

См. также в других словарях:

• get a word in edgeways usu. with negative — manage to contribute to a conversation with a voluble person. → edgeways …   English new terms dictionary

• get a word in edgeways — ► get a word in edgeways manage to break into a lively conversation. Main Entry: ↑edgeways …   English terms dictionary

• get a word in edgeways — To interpose what one needs to say with difficulty into a conversation dominated by others or another • • • Main Entry: ↑word …   Useful english dictionary

• get a word in edgeways — British, American & Australian, informal, American, informal if you can t get a word in edgeways, you do not have an opportunity to say anything because someone is talking so much or so quickly. Roz was talking so much that nobody else could get… …   New idioms dictionary

• get a word in edgeways — • get a word in (edgewise) v. phr. To find a chance to say something when others are talking. The little boy listened to the older students and finally got in a word. Mary talked so much that Jack couldn t get a word in edgewise …   Словарь американских идиом

• not get a word in edgeways — phrase to not manage to say something because another person is talking a lot Once he starts talking, no one can get a word in edgeways. Thesaurus: to stop talking, or to not say anythingsynonym Main entry: edgeways …   Useful english dictionary

• (not) get a word in edgeways — (not) get a word in ˈedgeways idiom (BrE) (NAmE (not) get a word in ˈedgewise) (not) to be able to say anything because sb else is speaking too much • …   Useful english dictionary

• (not) get a word in edgeways —    During a discussion, if you can t get a word in edgeways, you can t say something because the others are talking so much.     I tried to give my opinion, but I couldn t get a word in edgeways …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

• not get a word in edgeways — to not manage to say something because another person is talking a lot Once he starts talking, no one can get a word in edgeways …   English dictionary

• can’t get a word in edgeways — If you can t get a word in edgeways, you don t have the chance to say anything because the person you are with is is talking all the time …   The small dictionary of idiomes

• get a word in — or[get a word in edgewise] also[get a word in edgeways] {v. phr.} To find a chance to say something when others are talking. * /The little boy listened to the older students and finally got in a word./ * /Mary talked so much that Jack couldn t… …   Dictionary of American idioms

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

The use of the word edgewise or edgeways (“with the edge facing in the direction of movement”) is metaphorical, suggesting that the gap or opportunity for a person to speak is very slim.

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌɡɛt ə ˈwɜːd ɪn ˈɛdʒwaɪz/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɡɛt ə ˈwɝd ɪn ˈɛdʒwaɪz/
• Hyphenation: get a word in edge‧wise

Verb[edit]

get a word in edgewise (third-person singular simple present gets a word in edgewise, present participle getting a word in edgewise, simple past got a word in edgewise, past participle (UK) got a word in edgewise or (US) gotten a word in edgewise)

1. (US, usually in the negative) To break into or participate in a conversation.

   Everyone was talking at once. I couldn’t get a word in edgewise.

   • [1778 December, “[Original Letters. Miss Clifford to Miss Granby.] In Continuation.”, in The Lady’s Magazine; or, Entertaining Companion for the Fair Sex, Appropriated Solely to Their Use and Amusement, London: Printed for G[eorge] Robinson, […], →OCLC, page 652, column 1:

     The converſation at breakfaſt began on reading, which ſhe ſaid ſhe was extremely fond of, and Joſeph, her ladyſhip, and my papa, fell into ſuch a deep diſcourſe, that I verily thought they would never have finiſhed; for, believe me, I was quite out of patience, as neither mama nor I, could ſo much as put a ſingle word in edgewiſe; for they might as well have talked Greek to us, and we ſhould have underſtood them much the ſame.]

   • 1822, [James Colman], “Letter VIII. The Contrast.”, in Walks in the Country; or, Christian Sketches of Scenery, Life, and Character, in Familiar Letters, London: Printed for the author; published by James Nisbet, […], →OCLC, page 100–101:

     Accordingly she was exceedingly elevated; alternately singing pieces of hymns in a hobbling broken voice, having lost her teeth, breaking out into incoherent exclamations, and relating parts of her experience; while I had not room, which indeed I did not much require, to get a word in edgewise.

   • 1962 September 11, Jack Kerouac, chapter 13, in Big Sur, New York, N.Y.: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, →OCLC; republished as Big Sur (Penguin Modern Classics), London: Penguin Books, 2012, →ISBN:

     We help him push his Nash down the street, then drink awhile and talk with Evelyn a beautiful blonde woman that young Ron Blake wants and even Dave Wain wants but she’s got her mind on other things and taking care of the children who have to go to school and dancing classes in the morning and hardly gets a word in edgewise anyway as we all yak and yell like fools to impress her tho all she really wants is to be alone with me to talk about Cody and his latest soul.

   • 1996, Louis Baldwin, “Cokie Roberts: Political Commentator (1943– )”, in Women of Strength: Biographies of 106 who have Excelled in Traditionally Male Fields, A.D. 61 to the Present, Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, →ISBN, page 177:

     From the women who write to her, Cokie Roberts has observed, «I get the feeling that the country is full of women who’ve never gotten a word in edgewise when the men talk politics.»

   • 1999, Zena Collier, chapter 3, in A Cooler Climate, Lincoln, Neb.: toExcel Press, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 24:

     I sat there, letting his voice run on. Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t have gotten a word in edgeways. Perhaps if life continued thi way, I would gradually lose the faculty of speech, […]

   • 1999, Felicia Hughes-Freeland, “Dance on Film: Strategy and Serendipity”, in Theresa J. Buckland, editor, Dance in the Field: Theory, Methods and Issues in Dance Ethnography, Basingstoke, Hampshire; New York, N.Y.: Palgrave Macmillan, →DOI, →ISBN, part II (Methodological Approaches), page 117:

     I only included the interview because it is revealing of Javanese gender relationships. The young dancer is muted and hardly gets a word in edgeways, as the (male) troupe leader and her mother hijack each question and provide answers which are sometimes contradictory.

   • 2003, Sylvia Helmer; Catherine Eddy, “ESL Learners and Communication”, in Dyanne Rivers, editor, Look at Me when I Talk to You: ESL Learners in Non-ESL Classrooms (Pippin Teacher’s Library; 39), Toronto, Ont.: Pippin Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 48:

     [W]hen interacting with a member of a cultural group used to taking longer to reflect on what to say next, native English speakers virtually prevent this person from getting a word in edgewise. We feel compelled to fill the «uncomfortably long» silence with words.

   • 2014, Emma O’Reilly; with Shannon Kyle, “Old Wounds”, in The Race to Truth: Blowing the Whistle on Lance Armstrong and Cycling’s Doping Culture, London: Bantam Press, →ISBN, page 248:

     Betsy rang me every now and then, but I couldn’t get caught up in the ‘fight’ like she did. Besides, if I got a word in edgeways during each call I’d be lucky.

   • 2015 February, Eva Gates, By Book or by Crook (A Lighthouse Library Mystery), New York, N.Y.: Obsidian, New American Library, →ISBN, page 313:

     She must have nattered on for half an hour. Everyone else was gone when I finally got a word in edgewise and escaped.

Alternative forms[edit]

• get a word in edgeways (Britain)

Translations[edit]

Asked by: Rey Luettgen

Score: 5/5
(33 votes)

Definition of ‘not get a word in edgeways‘

If you say that you cannot get a word in edgeways, you are complaining that you do not have the opportunity to speak because someone else is talking so much.

What is a word in edgeways?

to not manage to say something because another person is talking a lot. Once he starts talking, no one can get a word in edgeways. Synonyms and related words. To stop talking, or to not say anything.

Is it word in edgeways or edgewise?

‘A word in edgeways‘, or as it is sometimes written ‘a word in edgewise’, is a 19th century expression that was coined in the UK. ‘Edgeways/edgewise’ just means ‘proceeding edge first’. The allusion in the phrase is to edging sideways through a crowd, seeking small gaps in which to proceed through the throng.

Can I get a word in meaning?

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishget a word in (edgeways)get a word in (edgeways)to get a chance to say something Once George starts talking it’s difficult to get a word in edgeways.

When I talk it isn’t always easy for others to get a word in edgewise?

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REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Get a word in edgeways [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/get-a-word-in-edgeways>. Apr 2023 ».