Green’s Dictionary of Slang

idle chatter, gossip, also v., attrib.

1556		Olde Antichrist 30: To make muche pryttle pratle of Salomons temple .
1579–80		in North Plutarch’s Lives VI (1924) 297: Every man’s mouth was full of prittle prattle and seditious words.
1587		J. Prime Observations upon Saint Paul to the Galathians n.p.: [note] God wil not be answered with prittle-prattle disputes.
1592		T. Lodge Rosalynde n.p.: [H]e resorted to his lodge, leauing them to their prittle prattle.
1602		J. Oberndorf [trans.] The anatomyes of the true physition, and counterfeit mounte-banke 4: Stage-players, Iuglers, Pedlers, prittle-pratling Barbers, filthie Grasiers, curious Bath-keepers, common shifters, & cogging Caueliers [ibid.] 12: Now he impudently, with a whole streame of prittle prattle, setteth out to the vttermost his goodly Gifts.
1617		S. Rowlands The bride n.p.: Much prittle prattle was in Wales about it [i.e. the wizard Merlin’s birth].
1620		T. Peyton The glasse of time 24: [of children] To prittle, prattle euery word by chance, / And vp and downe about the house to dance.
1630		T. Randolph Muses’ Looking Glass IV iv: They talk of wittie discourse and fine conceits, and I ken not what, a deal of prittle-prattle would make a Cat pis to hear ’em.
1654		Witts Recreations Epigram No. 25: Of Prittle-prattle. Though th’danger be not great [...] the most troublesome is Prittle-prattle.
1660		S. Fisher Rusticus ad academicos 45: [T]heir pratings, pratlings, and prittle prattles upon and concerning it,.
1673		W. Hicks ‘In praise of drinking’ in London drollery 17: Take up your Cups, and leave off this Prittle prattle, Boys, Away with disputes, they’re onely Fit for the Schools.
1682		‘Theophilus Rationalis’ New news from Bedlam 90: Here’s Hudibrass, that froathy state Bug-bear, / Who for his Drolling Dogrel prittle prattle, / He was at last presented with a Rattle.
1696		J. Dunton Night-Walker Sept. 2: So, after several Glasses, and some little insignificant Prittle-prattle, I fix’d my eyes upon her.
1700		N. Ward A Frolic to Horn-Fair 8: We had not [...] spent much time in Prittle-Prattle, but the Vintner [...] had most Ceremoniously Joyn’d himself with an Ironmongers Daughter.
1710		Swift letter vi 13 Oct. Journal to Stella (1901) 36: What shall Presto do for prittle-prattle to entertain MD?
1728		Supplement to the Profund 4: This is such ingenious Prittle-Prattle.
1785, 1788, 1796		Grose Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1811		Lex. Balatronicum.
1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue.
1871		Forest Republican (Tionesta, PA) 31 Jan. 1/3: The good director takes a special delight in the mirthful prittle-prattle of the dear children.
1879		Aberdeen Press & Jrnl 7 Jan. 4/2: He did not go prittle-ptrattling about to hear the opinion of the Harbour Commissioners.
1880		Indianpolis Leader (IN) 16 Oct. 2/4: Prittle-prattle politics — Exciting times.
1895		Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Apr. 11/1: ‘If you imagine it is a subject for cheery prittle-prattle, perhaps I’d better not commence’.
1904		Minneapolis Jrnl (MN) 20 Dec. 6/4: The pill-pot paregoric publication [...] has palliated its putrescent prittle-prattle of late.
1914		Ward Co. Indep. (Minot, ND) 13 Aug. 8/3: In a recent issue [...] appears some painfully punk poetic prittle-prattle.
1946		Motherwell Times 4 Jan. 1/3: Careless talk there has been at times, but on the whole the merry prittle-prattle was effervescent.