Double-talk

Double-talk
For Pig Latin-like "code", double talk, see Gibberish (language game).
Not to be confused with Doublespeak.

Double-talk is a form of speech in which inappropriate, invented or nonsense words are used to give the appearance of erudition and so confuse or amuse the audience. Comedians who used this as part of their act included Al Kelly,[1] Cliff Nazarro,[2] Danny Kaye,[3] Irwin Corey,[4] Jackie Gleason and Stanley Unwin.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Vaudeville, Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, 1, Routledge, 2007, p. 621, ISBN 9780415938532, "... Al Kelly was synonymous with double-talk." 
  2. ^ a b Dick Vosburgh (17 January 2002), "Stanley Unwin", The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/stanley-unwin-729675.html, "In the 1930s, "double-talk artists" enjoyed a brief craze in American show business. Comedians such as Jackie Gleason and the long-forgotten Cliff Nazarro and Al Kelly spouted nonsense words like "kopasetic", "franistan", "strismic" and "kravistate". Their double-talk was usually used to hoodwink a stooge and was delivered briskly, loudly and aggressively. Britain's Stanley Unwin, however, delivered his own brand of double-talk in the most benign way" 
  3. ^ Encyclopedia of twentieth century American humor, 2000, p. 246, ISBN 9781573562188, "Danny Kaye was a master at tongue-twisters, doubletalk, and dialects." 
  4. ^ Corey Kilgannon (April 14, 2008), "A Distinguished Professor With a Ph.D. in Nonsense", The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/14/nyregion/14comedian.html 

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • double-talk — double talker, n. /dub euhl tawk /, n. 1. speech using nonsense syllables along with words in a rapid patter. 2. deliberately evasive or ambiguous language: When you try to get a straight answer, he gives you double talk. v.i. 3. to engage in… …   Universalium

  • double talk — 1938, from DOUBLE (Cf. double) + TALK (Cf. talk) …   Etymology dictionary

  • double-talk — n [U] speech that is complicated and can have more than one meaning, sometimes used deliberately to deceive or confuse people British Equivalent: double speak ▪ legal double talk …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • double talk — ☆ double talk n. 1. ambiguous and deceptive talk 2. deliberately confusing or unintelligible talk made up of a mixture of real words and meaningless syllables * * * …   Universalium

  • double talk — ☆ double talk n. 1. ambiguous and deceptive talk 2. deliberately confusing or unintelligible talk made up of a mixture of real words and meaningless syllables …   English World dictionary

  • double-talk — talk that appears to have meaning but does not He gave the audience a lot of double talk so nobody knew what he wanted to say …   Idioms and examples

  • double-talk — [n] nonsense communicated amphibiology, balderdash, baloney*, bull*, drivel, equivocation, flimflam*, gibberish, jazz*, mumbo jumbo*, rigmarole; concept 278 Ant. sense, straight talk …   New thesaurus

  • double talk — index jargon (unintelligible language) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • double talk — double ,talk noun uncount a way of saying things that make it impossible for people to understand, used by people in official positions when they want to hide the truth …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Double Talk — For the language game, double talk, see Gibberish (language game). Not to be confused with doublespeak. Double Talk Also known as Celebrity Double Talk Genre Game show Created by Bob Stewart …   Wikipedia

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