spout v.1
to talk effusively.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Coxcomb IV iv: Pray, spout some French, son. | |
| Northern Lasse V viii: I will spowt some Cornish at him. | |
| Sir Martin Mar-all IV i: I hope I am old enough to spout English with you, Sir. | |
| Hist. of the Two Orphans IV 74: While cash continues, advanced he, we will live joyously in the country and when it is gone [...] we will spout tragedy and comedy for more. | |
| Humphrey Clinker (1925) I 68: Do, pray, spout a little the Ghost of Gimlet. | |
| Young Coalman’s Courtship 4: Spout ye a mutchken o’ molash in her cheek, ye’ll get her mind an’ speed the better. | |
| Sporting Mag. Mar. XI 342/2: They should not wonder, by and by, / To hear I was spouting Tragedy! | |
![[Ire]](/static/img/flags/ire.png "Ireland") | Spirit of Irish Wit 210: Do not spoil my spaking [...] Faith, I’m a novice in the spouting trade. | |
| All at Coventry I i: Havn’t I always got three rounds of applause whenever I spouted at The Mouth-and-Teapot club? | |
| Man o’ War’s Man (1843) 286: These printed gear came on board, and set all hands a-spouting about rights and privileges. | |
| ‘Drinking Song’ Works (1862) IV 235: The Saints! – the Bigots that in public spout [...] the aping Fanatics that talk All cant and rant. | |
| ‘The Mill! The Mill!’ Dublin Comic Songster 104: Where ev’ry kiddy whistles a tune, / And spouts away in his blue shaloon, / And tells of the joys he once espied, / With his fancy woman by his side. | |
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Flash (NY) 3 Oct. n.p.: Spouting Tom, the redoubtable, about to uncork the vials of his tremendous wrath. | |
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Bell’s Life in Sydney 4 Aug. 3/2: [headline] The Spouting Schoolmaster. | |
| Sam Sly 24 Mar. 2/1: Samuel D—y [...] not to spout at all the tea meetings in the neighbourhood; if he does, we will expose some of his doings at Mitchell's, the fat-melter's. | |
| ‘Mike Hooter’s Bar Story’ Spirit of the Times 26 Jan. (N.Y.) 581: But that ain’t what I was spoutin’ ’bout. | |
| Bell’s Life in Victoria (Melbourne) 4 Apr. 2/1: We do not wish to occupy our space with Mr. Schultz and his wretched partners in platform spouting [...] spouting men are a nuisance. | |
| Eric II 230: I’m not going to spout. | |
| My Diary in America II 312: In America every man attends public meetings, and every other man spouts at them. | |
| Appleton’s Journal (N.Y.) 1 May 561: He was ‘spouting Shakespeare,’ as the unreverential policeman said. | |
![[NZ]](/static/img/flags/nz.png "New Zealand") | N.Z. Observer (Auckland) 8 Jan. 162/3: [He] endeavoured to argue his point and proceeded to spout [...] in support of his argument. | |
| Fifth Form at St Dominic’s (1890) 350: ‘Bah! Do you think Greenfield senior would come to hear you spout’. | |
| Robbery Under Arms (1922) 49: I wonder you don’t leave such talk to fellows like Frowser, that’s always spouting at the Shearer’s Arms. | |
| Music Hall & Theatre Rev. 4 Jan. 11/1: [headline] Spouting Shakspere [sic]. | |
| Chimmie Fadden Explains 16: Mr. Paul is always spoutin dat. | |
| (?) ‘Getting Back on Dave Regan’ in Roderick (1972) 365: I never sung or spouted poetry unless I was sure I was miles away from anyone. | |
| Bulletin (Sydney) 3 Dec. 13/3: The new regulation in connection with the right of speech in Sydney Domain, by which ‘spouters’ will have to obtain the permission of the police before they can ‘spout,’ is likely to provoke some unpleasantness. | |
| Shorty McCabe 145: I couldn’t stand up there and show off, like a Sunday-school boy spouting a piece. | |
| Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 14 Jan. 3/3: Sets her spouting every night / Upon wimmens rights, and such-like / Tommy-Rot and blatherskite. | |
| ‘New Church’ Times 22 May (2006) 79/1: By night and day / I spouted from the drill books. | |
| Third Round 539: Just because he wants to spout out his footling discovery to a bunch of old geysers at the Royal Society. | |
| Flirt & Flapper 18: Flapper: Did we invent all that palaver [i.e. marriage vows] or was it handed to us to spout before we could go off with a boy and stay in a hotel without being arrested? | |
| World to Win 146: He was about to spout some of his bolshevik stuff. | |
| Pittsburgh Courier (PA) 14 Aug. 20/1: That democracy that political office-holders are spouting about every day. | |
| Savage Night (1991) 20: He hadn’t been spouting for more than ten or fifteen minutes. | |
| Exit 3 and Other Stories 76: Now don’t go spouting that stuff. | |
| Ten Times Table II i: Once he gets on his soapbox, spouting his rubbish, you’ll never get him off. | |
| Songlines 288: ‘Bastard!’ he said. ‘Shows me his geological survey map [...] and spouts a bunch of total garbage.’. | |
| Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] Garth Bruce is a cunt [...] You hear him sprouting [sic] all that shit about getting rid of the old culture in the force. | |
| Guardian Guide 19–25 June 6: Wilmshurst [...] encouraged me to spout my ideas as if they were holy writ. | |
| Birthday 98: Those who spouted that the family was done for had grown up with more than he’d had as a kid. | |
| This Is How You Lose Her 11: She would have to be quiet [...] so that I could process some of the information she’d been spouting. |
In compounds
a public house and/or its bar.
| Aus. Sl. Dict. 79: Spouting Ken, the bar of a public house. |
In phrases
to make one’s living by reciting portions of Shakespeare in public houses.
| Dict. of the Turf, the Ring, the Chase, etc. | |
| Sl. and Its Analogues. |
to write for a living.
| Praise of the Red Herring 22: Neuer since I spouted incke, was I of woorse aptitude to goe thorow with such a mighty March brewage as you expect. |
to gabble on (at).
| Biglow Papers (1880) 21: These creeturs [...] Should come to Jaalam Centre fer to argify an’ spout on ’t. | |
| letter in Yankee Correspondence (1996) 153: You must not care what they say just keep cool and they will get sick of blowing after a while [...] if I live to come home they will not dare to spout on us. | |
| Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) 5 June 8/1: The lines which the remarkable ‘author-doctor’ managed to spout off during the course of two hours. | |
| Philadelphia Inquirer (PA) 18 June 11/2: I gathered a bunch of notes [...] and spout them off. | |
| Vicksburg Eve. Post 27 Sept. 7/3: The time has passed when a little two-by-four editor can get up and spout off a lot of dope that will be accepted as gospel truth. | |
| Call-Leader (Elwood, IN) 26 Apr. 2/2: Anyone who does not care to hear politicians spout off can find enough room to get out of earshot. | |
| Public Opinion (Chambersburg, PA) 8 Dec. 10/1: You want to let a lot of Reds run loose, spout off and say nasty things about [...] President Hoover. | |
| Gang Rumble (2021) 17: [He] was hipped about kids [...] always spouting off about understanding youth. | |
| Mad mag. July 16: He spouts off to rustlers Keats, Shelly and such. | |
| Stage (London) 5 July 14/4: He manoeuvres himself around into a situation where he can spout off about George Jackson. | |
| After The Ball 347: They’re always spouting off on TV and leading rallies. | |
| Grand Central Winter (1999) 91: As she always does when I spout off like this, Barbara remains mute. | |
| Guardian Guide 25–31 Mar. 71: Spouting off one-liners with ease. | |
| St Louis Post-Dispatch (MO) 19 Apr. CO11/4: That doesn’t give the faculty members the right to spout off about anything. | |
| Des Moines Register (IA) 25 July C3: He could spout off stats of things that happened 37, 38 years ago. |