to talk nineteen to the dozen
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
To talk at a tremendous rate, or with excessive vehemence. D.P. The House of Lords (Lat. Domits Procerum). Also Displaced Persons (#.v.).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to talk nineteen to the dozen” mean?
To talk at a tremendous rate, or with excessive vehemence. D.P. The House of Lords (Lat. Domits Procerum). Also Displaced Persons (#.v.).
Is “to talk nineteen to the dozen” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.