talk sense

Idioms  

1. Speak rationally and coherently, as in Ranting and raving won't help; it's time we talked sense, or I wish you'd talk some sense into that son of yours. Shakespeare used this idiom in slightly different form in The Merry Wives of Windsor (2:1): “Believe it, Page, he speaks sense.”

---

Example Sentences

When asked why he didn’t take the threat more seriously, Barr justified his response by saying, “At the end of the day, it wouldn’t be carried out, and you could talk sense into him.”

From Salon • Apr. 27, 2024

China's announcement came hours after French President Emmanuel Macron left China following meetings with senior leaders, including President Xi Jinping, where Macron urged Beijing to talk sense to Russia over the war in Ukraine.

From Reuters • Apr. 8, 2023

“Before the election it was possible to talk sense to the president,” Barr said.

From Washington Post • Jun. 13, 2022

The former attorney general said that he “felt that before the election, it was possible to talk sense to the president.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 13, 2022

Over the next few hours I try to talk sense into her.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy