yackety-yak
Word Origin for yackety-yak
Words nearby yackety-yak
MORE ABOUT YACKETY YAK
What does yackety-yak mean?
Yackety-yak is a slang term for aimless, pointless talk, especially when it goes on and on.
The related slang term yack is most commonly used as a verb that means to talk, especially aimlessly, without stopping, and about unimportant things. Yack is also spelled yak and yackety-yak can also be spelled yackety-yack, yakety-yak, or yakity-yak. Yack (or yak) is also sometimes used as a noun to mean the same thing as yackety-yak, as is the word yacking, as in Quit your yacking!
Yackety-yak is the kind of trivial conversation that results from people yacking. Both terms are typically used at least somewhat negatively to criticize talking in such a way and imply that it is annoying or excessive.
Example: Would you two stop your yackety-yak and come help us?
Where does yackety-yak come from?
Terms like yack and yackety-yak are first recorded around the 1940s in the U.S. They are based on an imitation of the sound of background chatter.
Words like yackety-yak and its synonyms are often used in requests to stop such talk or in complaints about it, as in Quit that yackety-yak! or Stop your yacking! Such terms especially imply that such talk is continuous and not about anything of substance.
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What are some other forms related to yackety-yak?
- yackety-yack (alternate spelling)
- yakety-yak (alternate spelling)
- yakity-yak (alternate spelling)
What are some synonyms for yackety-yak?
- yacking
- yack
- yak
- yapping
- yammering
- yammer
- chatter
- jabber
- prattle
- prate
- babble
- yadda yadda yadda
- talk
What are some words that share a root or word element with yackety-yak?
What are some words that often get used in discussing yackety-yak?
How is yackety-yak used in real life?
Yackety-yak is extremely informal. It is often used in at least a mildly negative way to imply that such talk is annoying.
Hey leaders, enough with the yackety-yak. We need a national disability insurance scheme http://t.co/ITUSIKjg
— Crikey (@crikey_news) July 25, 2012
I'm sure these tv quizzes could be 20 minutes shorter if it wasn't for all the Yackety-yak over the blindingly obvious…
— MAW Holmes 🇪🇺 (@MAW_H) October 11, 2016
Man, when you write a horror feature you really learn how much time the yackety-yak takes.
— Jason Boice Love (@JBLove_LA) December 24, 2013
Try using yackety-yak!
Which of the following words is a synonym of yackety-yak?
A. prattle
B. jabber
C. chatter
D. all of the above