the gift of the gab

the gift of (the) gab

The ability to speak to others in a self-assured, persuasive manner. Alexis really has the gift of gab, so she should be the one to address the potential investors.

See also: gab, gift, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

gift of gab

Talent for verbal fluency, especially the ability to talk persuasively. For example, His gift of gab made him a wonderful salesman. [Late 1700s]

See also: gab, gift, of

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.

the gift of the gab

BRITISH or

the gift of gab

AMERICAN

If someone has the gift of the gab, they are able to speak confidently, clearly, and in a persuasive way. He was entertaining company and certainly had the gift of the gab. Thompson has the gift of the gab and is a born communicator. He was a pleasant little man with spiked hair, a black pipe, and a great gift of gab. Note: This expression may be related to the Irish and Gaelic word `gab', which means mouth.

See also: gab, gift, of

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

the gift of the gab

the ability to speak with eloquence and fluency.

Gab , dating from the late 18th century, was an informal word for ‘conversation or chatter’. In Scotland it was associated with gab , an early 18th-century dialect variant of gob meaning ‘the mouth’.

See also: gab, gift, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

the gift of the ˈgab

(British English) (American English a gift of/for ˈgab) (informal, sometimes disapproving) the ability to speak easily and to persuade other people with your words: To be a successful sales executive you need the gift of the gab. Gab is possibly from the Irish word for mouth. The Irish have a reputation as good talkers.

See also: gab, gift, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

gift of gab

Fluency of speech; also, a tendency to boast. Gab, both the noun meaning “speech” and the verb meaning “to chatter,” is believed to have come from the Gaelic dialect word gob, for “mouth.” Indeed it so appeared in Samuel Colvil’s Whiggs Supplication (1695): “There was a man called Job . . . He had a good gift of the Gob.” During the next century it became gab, as in William Godwin’s Caleb Williams (1794): “He knew well enough that he had the gift of the gab.” Later “the” was dropped.

See also: gab, gift, of

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer