flapping your jaws

flapping your jaws pronunciation

/FLAP-in yer JAWS/

Meaning

A pointed way to say somebody is gabbing idle or loud instead of doing something useful. On a porch or in a shop it lands as a shut-up with a grin, or a real warning if the boss is tired of the noise. Cousin to Appalachian jaw for talk, and jaw-jackin' for a long gas session.

How folks use it

• “Quit flapping your jaws and help me load this truck.”
• “He's been flapping his jaws all morning about that ball game.”

Origin and etymology

Flap one's jaws shows up in mid-1900s American slang for idle chatter. Rural Southern and Appalachian talk already used jaw as a verb for talking ("sit around and jaw"). Putting flap with jaws paints the mouth swinging like a screen door. The phrase is wider than the South, but it sits natural in redneck scolding.

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