My boss treats me like a child: she's always talking down to me.
I shouldn't have mentioned Joey's girlfriend; I think I put my foot in it.
Ann gets things across clearly — and she's the only person who talks sense around here.
My teacher's got a very quiet voice; I wish he'd speak up.
My sister's very direct and always speaks her mind, but at least she never talks about people behind their backs.
My daughter answers me back when I'm annoyed with her. I'm always telling her off for being so cheeky!
My colleague talks non-stop! You can't get a word in edgeways.
talk down to somebody
to talk to someone as if they are less important or intelligent than you
If you say that someone talks down to you, you disapprove of the way they talk to you, treating you as if you are not very intelligent or not very important.
I try not to talk down to my kids when they ask me a serious question.
put your foot in it
to say something without thinking carefully, so that you embarrass or upset someone
I’ve really put my foot in it this time. I didn’t realize that was her husband!
我这次真是讲错话了，我没想到那人是她的丈夫！
get something across to somebody
to succeed in communicating an idea or piece of information to someone, or to be communicated successfully
It took him ages to get his point across.
他花了好长时间才把他的意思说清楚。
talk sense
to say things that are reasonable or sensible
It's good to hear someone finally talking sense on this issue.
talk nonsense
to say things that are not reasonable or have no meaning
speak up
used to ask someone to speak louder
Could you speak up, please?
请你大声点说，好吗？
speak your mind
to tell people exactly what you think in a very direct way, even if it offends them
说出心里话，直抒己见
Even if they disagree sometimes with what he says, they like a candidate who speaks his mind.
behind somebody's back
if you do something behind somebody's back, you do it without them knowing
He agrees with his boss to his face, but then criticizes him behind his back.
to somebody's face
if you say something to somebody's face, you say it to them directly rather than to other people
answer back
to reply in a rude way to someone that you are supposed to obey
顶嘴
Stop answering your mother back!
不准和你母亲顶嘴！
tell somebody off (for something)
if someone in authority tells you off, they speak to you angrily about something wrong that you have done
斥责，训斥
My dad told me off for swearing.
我爸爸因为我说脏话而训斥我。
not get a word in edgeways
not be able to say anything because somebody else is speaking too much
When Mary starts talking, no one else can get a word in edgeways.
玛丽讲起话来，别人谁也插不上嘴。
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