burst into speech
To begin speaking, often suddenly or passionately. After hearing about everyone else's displeasure with her, she burst into speech in defense of her actions. Hubert is a very shy boy, so I wouldn't expect him to burst into speech in the presence of strangers. He's not the type of person who can just burst into speech. He can only read from remarks prepared ahead of time.
figure of speech
A form of expression in language, either spoken or written, that employs nonliteral meaning, unusual construction, or a particular combination of sounds to emphasize or heighten the rhetorical effect. Bob: "Does eating an apple a day really keep doctors away from you?" Doug: "Don't take it so literally, Bob, it's just a figure of speech." A: "They say opportunity knocked at our door, but I didn't hear anything all day." B: "Oh dear. Haven't you ever heard of a 'figure of speech'?" I did say, "That's just the tip of the iceberg," and yes, I know there's no iceberg here—it's a figure of speech, sonny.
freedom of speech
The right to express one's opinion without censorship or other forms of punishment imposed by the government. In the United States, freedom of speech is protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. The editor does not want to print my controversial article, but I'm pushing for it to appear in the next issue—what about freedom of speech? Freedom of speech came at a price for those protestors, as the crowd responded to them violently. Freedom of speech is clearly under threat here if you were arrested simply for speaking your mind!
give a rah-rah speech
To deliver a speech marked by exuberant or passionate enthusiasm (for something). The boys were so demoralized after allowing that goal with two minutes left that I didn't even think giving a rah-rah speech would help. Sales are way down. Who's going to give a rah-rah speech to the team? The boss gave you one of his rah-rah speeches to try to get you to work harder? Ugh, aren't they so annoying?
speech is silver, but silence is golden
proverb An expression that values silence over speech. I would be careful around all those reporters if I were you. Remember: speech is silver, but silence is golden.
speech is silver, silence is gold
proverb An expression that values silence over speech. I would be careful around all those reporters if I were you. Remember: speech is silver, silence is gold.
speech is silver, silence is golden
proverb An expression that values silence over speech. I would be careful around all those reporters if I were you. Remember: speech is silver, silence is golden.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
burst into
1. Also, burst out in or into . Break out into sudden activity. For example, burst into flames means "break out in a fire," as in This dry woodpile may well burst into flames. A version of this term, which dates from the 16th century, was used figuratively by John Milton: "Fame is the spur ... But the fair guerdon [reward] when we hope to find, and think to burst out into sudden blaze" ( Lycidas, 1637).
2. Also, burst out. Give sudden utterance to. For example, burst into tears or laughter or song or speech or burst out crying or laughing or singing , etc. mean "begin suddenly to weep, laugh, sing," and so on, as in When she saw him, she burst into tears, or I burst out laughing when I saw their outfits, or When they brought in the cake, we all burst into song. These terms have been so used since the late 1300s.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.