chinning
Talking, chatting, or running your mouth.
Also called chinning around, chin music.
Updated September 21, 2026
chinning pronunciation
/CHIN-in/
Meaning
Chinning is idle talk: porch gossip, store-aisle news, or jawing when you ought to be working. Same family as chin music and jawing. It can be friendly catching-up or a gentle dig that somebody won't shut up.
How folks use it
- “Y'all quit chinning and help me unload this truck.”
- “We sat on the porch chinning till the mosquitoes ran us inside.”
Origin and etymology
From chin, the part of the face that keeps moving while you talk. American slang used chin and chinning for chatter and back-talk by the late 1800s; Bartlett's Dictionary of Americanisms (1877) lists chinning as impudence or talk. Southern and Appalachian speech kept it for casual porch conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Is chinning always gossip?
Not always. It can just mean shooting the breeze. Tone decides whether it is friendly talk or somebody running their mouth.