Wow! Another crazy week of news, with certain people saying lots of interesting things. So it was funny to me when my Mental Floss Word Nerd Daily calendar (a gift from my awesome friend and Wahoo Sharon) recently presented “prattle basket” as an “old-fashioned word to bring back.”
The phrase, which describes someone who will not stop talking, was first used way back in 1602, followed closely by “prattle box” in 1671. Chatter box entered the lexicon in 1774.
I feel like we have a lot of prattle baskets getting attention in our society these days. Do you agree?
Prattle basket made me think of a Word Nerd post I shared years ago about a bloviating megalomaniac. Guess who that was?
bloviate \’blō- vē-āt\ verb, perhaps an irregular form of “blow”
To speak or write verbosely or windily
megalomaniac \me-gə-lō-ˈmā-nē- ak\ noun
One who suffers from a mental disorder marked by feelings of unlimited importance and power
I confess, I’m a bit of a prattle basket myself. Throughout school, I got warning notes on my report cards for excessive talking during class. And my eleventh grade English teacher dubbed me “Babbles” (Babs for short) and assigned me loqui when we studied Latin roots.
Can you share a fun word for people who tend toward loquaciousness?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
LOL you are definitely a prattle basket, and I think I’m one too — I blame you!