talk someone's ear off
Exhaust a listener
To talk someone's ear off is to talk to them at great length, often to the point of exhausting their patience.
The phrase suggests relentless, one-sided conversation: My uncle will talk your ear off about his golf game if you let him.
The image is of words so abundant they could wear away a body part.
- monopolizingTaking exclusive control
- exhaustingDepleting one's stamina
- verboseMore words than necessary
- loquaciousInclined to talk much
- garrulousTediously long-winded
chatterbox · wordy · interruptive · rambling · prolix · run at the mouth · dominating · irritating · effusive · chew the fat · verbal diarrhea · yammer · chatty · overtalkative · draining · tiresome · talk a blue streak · go on and on
verbal output quantity
talk someone's ear offsay nothing
Refrain from speaking
keep quiet · remain silent · hold one's tongue · clam up · keep mum