tittle-tattle
noun phrase and verb phrase

- talk about other people's lives that is usually unkind, disapproving or not true; gossip

(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

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Tittle-tattle falls into the category of words that are created as a result of reduplication, which refers to repeating parts of words to form new ones. Such words are generally pure nonsense, making them fun to use.

Reduplicates can be formed by rhyming (pow-wow), repeating the same word (wee-wee) or by means of ablaut, in which a vowel is replaced (tittle-tattle).

If language experts are to be believed, reduplication begins at an early age (six to eight months) with something they call "reduplicative babbling," a wonderful phrase itself. It is characterised by repetition of identical or nearly identical consonant vowel combinations, such as "nanana" or "didididi."

This babbling becomes more sophisticated as we grow older, enabling us to create words like chit-chat, criss-cross, ding-dong, jibber-jabber, kitty-cat, knick-knack, pitter-patter, splish-splash and zig-zag.

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SYNONYMS
noun

babble, back-fence talk, blather, buzz, chatter, chit-chat, clothesline conversation, gossip, grapevine, hearsay, idle talk, prattle

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PRACTICE OWAD TODAY
Say something like:

"We don't have to read the TITTLE-TATTLE in the daily newspapers."