Street voices
Hugues
·
United States
"Yammering, the act of talking on and on about unimportant stuff that nobody cares about. Yeah, man, I'm totally cool, man, I'm totally cool. I could down five beers, no, ten beers without passing out, promise you. What are you yammering on about? No one cares, man."
What it means
To yammer is to keep banging on in an annoying, whiny, can't-let-it-go way. Not just talking loads, but filling the air with a droney stream of complaints, fuss, or pointless chatter till everyone's patience starts melting. You'd use it when someone's going on and on and you really wish they'd pack it in.
Usage examples
"He yammered all the way up the hill about the cold, mate. It was just a bit nippy, not Everest in trainers and a hoodie."
"He yammered about the football result for the entire bus ride, and by our stop I could have recited the score in my sleep."
"She kept yammering about the queue in Tesco like she'd survived a national crisis."
"Stop yammering on and spit it out, mate. What actually happened?"
"If Dave starts yammering about parking again, I'm leaving him at the pub and saving my ears."
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Where it comes from
Yammer has been in English for centuries and is tied to older words for whining, wailing, and noisy complaint. It’s related to German jammern, which means to lament or moan. The sound of yammer itself does half the work, all naggy, repetitive, and a bit ear-clogging.
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