Also ‘talk up a blue streak’ and ‘curse a blue streak.’
Meaning of the Idiom ‘Talk a Blue Streak’
Similar to talk nineteen to the dozen or talk a mile a minute. When someone ‘talks a blue streak’ they are speaking very quickly and at length. This idiom, like other related talk idioms, also has the connotation of exhausting the listener.
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Related Idioms
Examples Of Use
“He talked a blue streak trying to get out of trouble but no matter what he said, nobody believed him.”
“Anna talks a blue streak and can be annoying, but I really like her.”
Origin
Frist recorded in print in 1914, this idiom probably has its origin in earlier expressions referring to a blue streak such as ‘quick as a blue streak.’ Among other speculations, it has been suggested that this expression was a shorted version of “quick as a blue-tailed skink” which referred to a very fast moving lizard with a blue tail, which moved so fast all you saw was the blue streak of its tail. A less fanciful explanation is that the expression refers to lighting, which sometimes appears as a blue streak in the sky.
Originally related expressions such as “like a blue streak” were used to describe anything that was very quick. When used in regards to speaking, gained the further connotation of ‘continuously.’ A person can talk a blue streak, but they can also curse or ‘swear up’ a blue streak. As above, there are several related expressions which convey much the same meaning.
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