jabberjawing
Running your mouth nonstop; endless chatter or gossip.
Also called jabberjaw, jabbering.
Updated September 24, 2026
jabberjawing pronunciation
/JAB-er-jaw-in/
Meaning
Jabberjawing is talking that will not quit. Somebody is flapping gums at the kitchen table, the feed store, or on the phone, and you have heard enough. It can be harmless storytelling or nosy gossip. Call the person a jabberjaw and they usually know you mean quit it, even if you are half joking.
How folks use it
- “Y'all quit jabberjawing and help me unload this truck.”
- “She's been jabberjawing about the neighbors all morning.”
Origin and etymology
Built from jabber (rapid chatter, Middle English roots) plus jaw (talk, as in hold your jaw). Southern and Appalachian speech kept the compound jabberjawing for nonstop talk. The 1970s Hanna-Barbera shark cartoon Jabberjaw borrowed the same idea of a character who never shuts up.