talk is cheap

proverb

It is easy to make boastful or unrealistic statements which are not supported by actions or evidence.

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Meanings

proverb
  1. idiomaticIt is easy to make boastful or unrealistic statements which are not supported by actions or evidence.

    "If I ever set eyes on that savage again, I'll kill him. You know that, don't you, you damn squaw?" She shrugged. "Talk's cheap."

    1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, Flame on the Frontier; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 29
    1 more example

    Cecil Winwood accepted the test. He claimed that he could dope the guards the night of the break. “Talk is cheap,” said Long Bill Hodge. “What we want is the goods. Dope one of the guards to-night.”

    1915, Jack London, chapter 2, in The Star-Rover

Origin

The expression first appears c. 1783 in the play All pleas'd at last.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian с приказки пазар не се прави
  • с приказки пазар не се прави (s prikazki pazar ne se pravi)it is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Chinese Mandarin 说着容易做着难
  • 说着容易做着难it is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Finnish puhe on halpaa
  • puhe on halpaait is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
French c'est facile de parler, un con qui marche va plus loin qu'un intellectuel assis
  • c'est facile de parlerit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
  • un con qui marche va plus loin qu'un intellectuel assisit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Italian si fa presto a parlare
  • si fa presto a parlareit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Latvian gudri dirst nav malku cirst
  • gudri dirst nav malku cirstit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Māori he kōrero i pahawa
  • he kōrero i pahawait is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Polish mówić to każdy potrafi
  • mówić to każdy potrafiit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Portuguese falar é fácil
  • falar é fácilit is easy to make boastful statements which are not supported by actions
Cite this entry
APA

talk is cheap. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/talk%20is%20cheap

MLA

“talk is cheap.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/talk%20is%20cheap. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “talk is cheap,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/talk%20is%20cheap.

Source: talk is cheap on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.