talk nineteen to the dozen
idiom

- to talk quickly and incessantly

Compact Oxford English Dictionary

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WORD ORIGIN

Some sources claim the phrase "nineteen to the dozen" can be traced back to the time of the Cornish tin and copper mines, which were often hit by floods. Back then, coal-powered and steam-driven pumps were installed to clear the water. At maximum capacity, the pumps could clear out nineteen thousand gallons of water for every twelve bushels (bushel = Scheffel) of coal. Thus "nineteen to the dozen" refers to a system that works very hard and very fast.

At least that's the theory, which has never been substantiated.

Other sources, such as World Wide Words, says "talking nineteen to the dozen" comes from the notion that for every dozen (12) words everyone else says in a conversation, the fast speaker can get in nineteen. A talking ratio of 19 to 12 you could say… Mmmm!

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SYNONYMS

babble, blab, blather, bull, cackle, chat, chitchat, gibber, gossip, jabber, jaw, natter, palaver, prate, prattle, ramble on and on, tattle, twaddle, twiddle, yak

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Practice OWAD in a conversation today. Say something like:

"I need to some information from Bob, but I hesitate to ask him. He TALKS NINETEEN TO THE DOZEN and I'll be stuck in his office for at least an hour."