get a word in edgewise

Idioms  

1. Also, get a word in edgeways. Insert oneself into a conversation or express one's opinion despite competition from other speakers. For example, So many people had questions for the lecturer that it was hard to get a word in edgewise, or Nancy loves to talk, and I couldn't get a word in edgeways. This idiom, often put in the negative, transfers an object with its edge foremost to inserting conversation. [Late 1700s]

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Example Sentences

“I didn’t—” Theo begins, but it’s clear my father doesn’t mean to allow him to get a word in edgewise.

From Literature

Nobody could get a word in edgewise when Mush was on a tear.

From Literature

It was never easy to get a word in edgewise, and there was nothing “safe” about that space—say anything half-stupid and everyone would pile on for the next 25 years.

From The Wall Street Journal

Kamala Harris could hardly get a word in edgewise during her interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, but when she did she made it count.

From Salon

As Rogovoy astutely writes, Harrison “was one of four, and if sometimes it was hard to get a word in edgewise when your bandmates were the wickedly outrageous John Lennon, the voluble Paul McCartney, and the affable Ringo Starr, Harrison made every word count. His wit was as quick and biting as Lennon's. He did not suffer fools gladly—by the evidence of his songs, he despised them.”

From Salon