Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

cross talk

or cross-talk, cross·talk

noun
  1. interference heard on a telephone or radio because of unintentional coupling to another communication channel.
  2. incidental conversation; chatter, as opposed to formal discussion: The meeting was slowed by cross talk between board members.
  3. British. witty, fast-paced dialogue, especially in a play, comic act, etc.; repartee.
Show More

Origin of cross talk

First recorded in 1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cross talk

Historical Examples

  • Don't answer back as though we were a vaudeville team doing a cross-talk act.

    The Man Upstairs

    P. G. Wodehouse

  • During the process of dressing there was a great deal of "cross-talk" going on at Queen's that night.

  • The torments, inflicted on my suspense by a pair of cross-talk comedians, cannot be surpassed in hell.

    To Tell You the Truth

    Leonard Merrick

  • If this were not so, cross-talk would exist between the telephones of the operators' positions connected to the same battery.