Meanings
- uncountableset phraseLighthearted, pleasant conversation; upbeat banter; optimistic remarks.
Even BP fall guy Tony Hayward, after some early happy talk, admitted that the spill was an "environmental catastrophe."
2010 July 29, Michael Grunwald, “The BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated?”, in Time, retrieved 05 Aug 20144 more examples
Dr. Sandwith soon afterwards ran out to the excited chattering group in the garden, and after a few minutes' happy talk with him, Harry spoke to him of the visitors.
1888, G. A. Henty, chapter 15, in In The Reign Of Terror"Maybe the public is waking up and getting skeptical about simple public relations, effortless, happy-talk rhetoric," he said.
1992 February 17, Maureen Dowd, “The 1992 Campaign”, in New York Times, retrieved 05 Aug 2014Clinton's upbeat tone marked his passage from econo-pessimist to cheerleader. Some observers give new mediameister David R. Gergen, who learned happy talk at the knee of Ronald Reagan, credit for the shift.
1993 June 27, “Commentary: Suddenly, The Rah Rah President”, in Businessweek, retrieved 05 Aug 2014"Now have there been missteps? Of course." Among them, he admits, Dick Cheney's happy talk about the insurgency in Iraq being in its "last throes."
2007 June 28, Holly Bailey, “To Be Perfectly Honest . . .”, in Newsweek, retrieved 05 Aug 2014
Cite this entry
happy talk. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happy%20talk
“happy talk.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happy%20talk. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “happy talk,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/happy%20talk.
Source: happy talk on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.